


The Specialist

by leonkennedy89



Category: Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. (TV), Biohazard | Resident Evil (Gameverse), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Action/Adventure, Bioterrorism, Friendship, Romance
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-07-16
Updated: 2015-10-06
Packaged: 2018-04-09 17:03:13
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 11
Words: 30,018
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4357283
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/leonkennedy89/pseuds/leonkennedy89
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After the tragic death of the U.S President in a biological outbreak, Secret Service agent Leon Kennedy decides it's time for a new approach in his fight against bio-terrorism and finally accepts the job offer from one Phil Coulson. The story follows Leon's missions and relationships with the other members of the team, specially a very badass field agent.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Flashback - Part I

**Author's Note:**

> (Hello everybody! This crossover takes place at the end of the second season of Agents of SHIELD, then will contain spoilers. As for Resident Evil, goes after RE6. I don't own any of the series, of course. And i apologize by any grammatical mistakes, since english is not my primary language. Anyway, comments and reviews are always welcome!)

AERO AIRCRAFT CARRIER OF S.H.I.E.L.D / 2011

\- Flashback 1

Colonel Nicholas "Nick" Fury was sitting at his desk in the main hall of the Aero aircraft carrier of S.H.I.E.L.D with a frown as he watched a series of reports that contained photos of a "supposed" research base and some creatures, genetically engineered in laboratories (since 1998 with the Umbrella Corporation scandal in Raccoon City, call BOW, Bio-Organic Weapons) which, Fury's opinion, seemed to have come from the mind of someone lunatic, like Hitler.

"Remind me again why the BSAA cannot take on this case?" Fury used a low voice. Knowing the answer of his question, but expecting to be convinced, especially if he's going to risk the lives of his agents.

"First, because the BSAA does not take covert operations" said his right arm, the Agent Maria Hill, who continued: "All biological anti-terrorism operations must be sanctioned and have the endorsement of the country in question, and the United Nations, and at the time, Edonia is not authorizing any operation from the BSAA or any agency in their country due to internal turmoil. "  
"That includes us," added Fury's "left arm", the agent Phillip "Phil" Coulson:. "Moreover, these biological weapons have connections with the Centipede project, although we're not sure that the complex really belongs to them. Anyway, I think it would be good for us to collect the research data, instead of the United Nation .."

"And blow that shithole to pieces after that " emended Fury, already convinced. Hill has been asked to assemble a team that can make the infiltration, but before dispensing both, Fury drummed his fingers on the table as he added: "We have no expert in anti-biological situations in S.H.I.E.L.D..i don't want my boys entering in the dark on a mission like this. We need a consultant ... "  
Coulson smiled, slightly shaking his head as he stood up: "You can assemble the team to the briefing, I think I know the perfect person for this job .."

2 Hours Later

The agent Barbara "Bobbi" Morse and one of his best friends, fellow agent (and also chief engineer) Alphonso "Mack" Mackenzie sat in a large conference room, along with six other agents, in addition to Hill and Coulson, who left the room after a cell phone call. All of them were part of the tactical team that was assembled to infiltrate, retrieve the intel and destroy the research complex in Edonia. It would be another ordinary S.H.I.E.L.D mission, if the base in question wasn't working with biological experiments, and probably equipped with virus and materials bought on the black market, through companies like the deceased Umbrella and Tricell.

Mack broke the silence with a whisper: "Hey Bobbi, have you read the information that came to us? It is likely that the place is full of experiments and all sort of weird stuff..you know there is the risk of infection, right? Or something like Raccoon City…"  
Bobbi, pondered for a few seconds before answering.. "Well…another reason for us to be there. To secure the area, and to learn everything we can about this BOW's..and, if makes you feel better, i heard that they were going to call a consultant or something like this for the mission. "

"They say the guy was recruited by Coulson at the time he was in the Secret Service, in the 90s" Said one of the agents, taking part in the conversation, which continued for a few minutes until the door was opened, followed by the appearance of Coulson and another man, who Bobbi thought was the consultant in question.

The man was about to Bobbi's height, maybe little higher, but not by much. He wore black pants and shirt and also a brown jacket, plus gloves and a holster on his leg where he was carrying a gun. He wore sunglasses and had a somewhat big hair, running down his face until his cheeks. Instinctively, Bobbi raised an eyebrow as she followed the man and Coulson with her eyes to their respective places. When she looked back to Mack, he was staring her with narrowed eyes and a smile. "Just watching you, Morse .." Bobbi just made a grimace to Mack's statement and turned to Coulson, who began to speak: "This is Leon Kennedy United States Secret Service Agent, and will be our B.O.W specialist in this mission. Agent Kennedy, this is the team designed to accompany you in this mission. "

Leon pulled his sunglasses and glanced at the agents, one by one, and then slightly increased his voice for everyone to hear: "Nice to meet all of you. I'm sure you're all great and very capable agents... but there won't be the slightest chance of this mission to be accomplished with nine people. "

"Why do you say that, agent Kennedy?" protested Hill, with a slight impatient voice. Bobbi agreed with her tone, they were all great agents, what else did he want?

"Because we will infiltrate an area with a high risk of biological contamination, judging from the experiments involving BOW's I've seen the reports. In this type of mission, the more people we take, the more people have a chance to be exposed and infected. I sure none of you want to shoot your own comrades, right? I want your best field agent, and someone who can fly a helicopter and has some degree of electronics. The three of us will be enough. "

Coulson nodded before Hill could intervene. He knew Leon Kennedy since 1998, when along with his then partner in the Secret Service, the agent (and now US President) Adam Benford, recruited the young former police officer and survivor of the biological disaster that swept the city of Raccoon from the map. Even after joining SHIELD, Coulson continued in contact with Leon, and had thought several times to offer a place in the S.H.I.E.L.D for the agent. The agency needed a specialist in bio-terrorism, and Leon was probably one of the most capable in the world. Not only thanks to his knowledge regarding the BOW's, but his ability in general. Coulson was absolutely certain that if Leon faced someone like Natasha Romanoff, Clint Barton or Melinda May, the odds would be 50/50 for any of them.

Coulson turned his gaze to Hill, who also nodded positively, as he turned to the agents: "Agents Morse and Mackenzie, I ask you to stay and join us in the briefing room. The rest of you are dismissed.".  
Bobbi and Mack stood and waited the other agents leave among mumbles, and went down the hall to the briefing room. It was a small room with just a simple table, some chairs and a screen that would display the mission intel in question. Before they could sit, Leon, Hill and Coulson joined them.

"This is agent Barbara Morse, our field specialist, and that's Alphonso McKenzie, our chief engineer, besides being a good agent in the field, if necessary," Coulson said as Leon shook hands with the two quickly and the briefing began.  
The purpose of the mission was to infiltrate the base. An undercover contacts S.H.I.E.L.D agent would help the infiltration, remotely. Once inside, they should get to the command center, where they should collect more information about the research developed there. Then, they should plant explosive charges in strategic areas of the base, and extract the S.H.I.E.L.D contact inside while escaping. The monitoring communications would be made by one of Leon contacts in the Secret Service, which will hack the base security system and make the monitoring mission using the complex surveillance system.  
After the briefing, the three agents were on the Aero aircraft carrier arsenal, preparing their equipment. Bobbi was dressed in combat gear, black in color, with small blue details, which Leon may notice that much valued of her ... figure. There was also leg holsters for her two pistols, and a greater holster on her back, which made Leon very curious about the kind of weapon she would be using. Until the agent took two metal staves and twisted in her hands for a few seconds where her gaze meets the inquisitive eye of Secret Service agent.

"They are fighting staves ... lightweight, strong and can easily knock a man .." The agent smiled, slightly shaking her head and hit the staves together, a sudden electric spark on both of them "… with a blow or a shock. " Bobbi turned the staves again and fitted in the holster on her back while Leon emended, putting his combat gear: "People ... and staves…are full of surprises.." He returned Bobbi's smile and then focused on fixing his vest. Leon had replaced his jacket for a combat vest, who was also black, with a special holster for a knife and a pistol and several pockets for ammunition and other equipment, and a small med kit in the back. Mack also had done to gear up, using a similar tact gear to Leon, but with a different vest, where one could see some small appliances and electronic tools, as well as the explosives bag, in which Mack would be in charge.

Already armed and prepared, the three followed in the Aero aircraft carrier track toward a helicopter, where Hill and Coulson were waiting. As they walked, Mack turned to face Leon and asked quietly, trying to keep a calm expression, "Have you done this B.O.W-infiltration-kind-of-mission many times, right?" Leon sighed, and answered in a tone that seemed, at least for Bobbi, kinda tired: "Yeah, more than enough, to be honest…"


	2. Flashback - Part II

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey guys, this chapter is a little short than the last one, but don't worry, there'll be a lot of ass kicking in the next chapter to make up for it! I hope you're all enjoying reading this story as much I'm enjoying writing it!

The three agents were in the helicopter for about thirty minutes, and from where the Aero aircraft carrier had left them, it would take another twenty minutes to get to the checkpoint, where they would continue on foot. The afternoon was beginning to fall and in the meantime the agents had already established a line of communication with the base and while Mack flew, Leon and Bobbi were still analyzing the mission parameters one more time. Was the engineer who broke the silence asking:

"I know this information is already in the briefing but ... I think I would rather hear from you, Agent Kennedy (" Leon ", corrected the American agent, without taking his eyes of the papers he was reading) .. Leon..BO W's ...how we kill them? Most descriptions on them, from what I read…are very vague. "

Leon looked up from the paper and leaned back in his seat and realized that Bobbi's eyes were also on him. Running a hand through his hair, Leon quickly recalled the speech he had made a few too many times:

"To be honest..each B.O.W is unique. It's amazing how you realize humanity's sickness when you observe the amount and diversity of these things. The virus is able to genetically alter any living being, any animal, any man can become a weapon..and each virus, parasite or the hell it is, will change it differently .. "

"So, basically, we have to improvise?" Bobbi added, a note of uncertainty in her voice, which soon disappeared.

"Yes ... but B.O.W's aren't perfect. Usually the physical changes in the body of the subjects and the difficulty in turning something ... into a B.O.W's always leaves them with deformations or other features that are easy to spot. All B.O.W's has a weakness. You just need to observe, which I admit, in the heat of the battle is sometimes hard but ... seek an exposed organ, a bright spot ... anything like. If is different, or stand up to attention? Shoot. "

Leon then crossed his arms, his gaze settling somewhere in the landscape, but Bobbi realized he was not really looking at it. It was as if he was searching for the words from somewhere in his memory.  
"Infected, on the other hand ... "zombies", if you want to call them. These are easier. A bullet in the head or by decapitation, and problem solved. But I don't think we'll have to worry about it. There was no mention of infected in the briefing, or anything ... unless an accident happens, of course ... and let's hope to something like this don't occur ... though, and I'm sorry to say, this sort of thing seems to haunt me."

Bobbi noted that the last words from Leon contained an even more heavy and tired tone than the rest. But in a way she understood. The life of an agent of this kind takes a lot from you. She even knows she will never have a normal life, and probably he feels the same thing. And on some days, it wear you more than others.

The aircraft plunged into silence again for a few more minutes, until Mack announced that they were close to the checkpoint and told them to prepare for landing.

The area where they landed was just a clearing in a forest, well away from the capital. The laboratory in question was a few kilometers ahead. Disguised as a research ecological laboratory and away enough from any town so they could take care of any problem with his subjects. "Or not, after all, was probably what they thought in Raccoon City," Mack thought as he left the helicopter, carrying the explosive bag in his back and joining Leon and Bobbi, who were already outside. Leon touched his ear and the three heard static and the voice of a woman who both agents of S.H.I.E.L.D didn't know.

Leon then, made the introductions: "Agents Mackenzie and Morse, you are now talking with Ingrid Hunnigan, who will be our contact, will also hack the cameras of the base and prevent us from falling into the jaws of our antagonists. You think you can do the camera hacking before we get there? "

Hunnigan made a dismissive noise before answering: "Nice to meet you two, agents (which was quickly answered by a "likewise" from both of them), and Leon ... please, you know me for many years ...you should know that I have entered into their system way before you call me, and by the way, I already spotted the undercover scientist for you. I'm going to send the laboratory schematics for your PDA's. I'll contact you guys in the mission area. Hunnigan off. "

"She's good," said Mack, with a slight smile as he began the walk. "Yeah, a little too good maybe, but I can't complain, I always put her in some difficult situations, and she never let me down." Bobbi reminded herself of Leon's file, that she has pulled off while in the helicopter. Former police officer who survived a zombie apocalypse on his first day of work and soon became a prodigy within the Secret Service. He worked in an organization whose primary purpose was to bring down the Umbrella Corporation and was successful. And continued to complete mission after mission until he became a well-known legend of any agent who works against biological terrorism. And after all, he is still, from time to time, assigned to the personal security of the US president and his family. It was an impressive résumé, but Bobbi saw some things in Leon profile that she saw on her own - the last vacation he had taken was already more than two years ago, he tended to act out the book when deemed necessary- was the kind of thing she would need to know if Leon had to be put back in the focus if he decided to do things his way. It was a S.H.I.E.L.D mission after all.

The walk was short, and although the three agents exchanged glances, they followed the path in silence. Each focusing in their own way and trying to ward off the cold as it was already night when they began to move.  
When they saw the first lights of the complex, the three crouched near a big rock and Leon contacted Hunnigan by his earpiece: "Hunnigan, we are in position. Our contact has already taken care of the electric fence? "

" Affirmative, and the outside cameras are already in looping, Leon, green light to begin the operation. "  
Since the laboratory was supposed to be a farse, there was no armed guards or watchtowers outside. As contained in the briefing, most of the complex was underground. Outside it was completely surrounded by a large electric fence. Still from afar, Bobbi took a stone in her fingers and threw at the fence, only to find out that nothing happened. With the electric fence out of play, the three set off towards the complex.

Bobbi and Leon went up fast, with speed and accuracy that made Mack simply mutter "These field experts ..." while - and with little more difficulty- managed to jump the fence, taking back the explosive bag that had passed to Leon.

"The briefing showed that the best infiltration zone are the air ducts. Any lab that works with science need to have a large network of ventilation shafts. It should be big enough for us." Bobbi said as the trio departed toward the east wall of the complex, where one could see the beginning of the great, silvery ventilation ducts, where the air outlet port was opened by Mack with some tools.

Bobbi led the way through the pipes down a large number of stairs surrounded by large fans until Hunnigan led them to a specific point and asked the trio to go through a more narrow path, who led them to a kind of chemical storage room.  
Leon checked his watch; if everything was happening as expect, they should meet with the undercover scientist in about two minutes, and then, the mission would begin for real.


	3. Flashback - Part III

Flashback - Part III

While they waited for the arrival of the undercover scientist, Leon drew his pistol, examining it for a second, before notice the inquisitive look of Bobbi and replied with a slight smile and a note of pride:

"No, it's not a USP or a Sigma. In fact, she was completely customized. I chose to call her Silver Ghost. "

"I really thought it was a modified USP ... I would like to see this weapon another time, if you don't mind .." - Bobbi replied, also smiling. In fact, she agreed that it was a beautiful weapon, silver, with a wooden handle, a laser sight and slot for a silencer if the owner so wished. It made Bobbi rethink about her own M&P pistol.

"No problem ... maybe you see it in action soon. What I hope doesn't happen .. "Leon said, his sentence quickly finished by Mack:  
"What is not exactly how this job works, right?"

Before he could answer, the three agents heard a noise at the door and quickly hid in the darkness of the room, as they watched the entrance of a white-coated man, who looked nervous and suspicious. Hunnigan's voice rapidly explained: "This is the undercover scientist, Jeremy Baker."

Hearing this, the three agents came out of the shadows, with Bobbi initiating the dialogue: " , we are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D, we came here to gather information, and to extract you out of this lab."

The man looked nervous, drops of sweat on his forehead and rubbing his hands in lab coat, but remained with a somewhat calm tone in his voice as he spoke: "I have a USB drive with all my research here, the rest of the research made here though, you can only access by the computer mainframe, upstairs."

"How is security up there?" asked Leon, more to Hunnigan than to Jeremy, but it was the scientist who replied, "Three armed guards, but with automatics. The safety decreased slightly because some of the BOW's had been transported to another place ... as well as all the data in the secret project that was made here, which incidentally, was much above my access .. "

"What project?" Questioned Mack, furrowing his eyebrows, "why I have the impression I'm not going to like the answer…?"

"The project ARES. But I don't know what it is, and the research file about it has been deleted from the mainframe.."

"Ok ... we go to the mainframe, and once there, Mack will download all the information we can, while me and Leon take care of the security. After this, we plant the explosive charges and get the hell out of here. " Bobbi commanded and Leon nodded, asking the scientist:" There's still B.O.W's in the lab, right?"

"Just a few Lickers, they were trying to work on a way to control the BOW's in some way ... but all went very, very wrong." And the scientist's expression seemed to leave no doubt about how things went wrong. If someone, one day, effectively control these things ... we'll have a much, much bigger problem on our hands .., thought Leon as the trio walked closer to the door.

"Lickers, huh? Those nasty things with claws and giant tongue? "Mack said, breathing deeply while Leon completed," Yeah..the tongue is very dangerous, it can pierce you like a spear, but his most dangerous feature are his leaps ... stay sharp, these things jump straight .. "

"In your jugular, like a predator .." Bobbi completed. At least three were in synchrony.

Suddenly, Hunnigan warned that there were two security guards approaching. Leon made the scientist call the two guards, and when they entered the room, they were surprised and quickly knocked out. Leon holding one of the security guards by the neck, while he smashed his face against the wall. Meanwhile, Bobbi grabbed the other by the arm and swung him to the ground. With the corridor empty, the agents headed toward the stairs that led to the mainframe floor.

After quickly climbing the stairs, the group stopped near the next floor door while Hunnigan said: "The hall is easily accessible, no security guards, but within the mainframe room, there are three, and well armed, as Mr. Baker informed. One near the door, the second about three meters to the right and the last near the computer itself, and some scientists in the room that should not offer any danger "

By the time the agent had finished her speech, the group was already close to the door. Bobbi signaled with her eyes and hands to Leon, that she would take care of the two nearest guards while Leon will take care of the one near the computer. Mack, would have to keep the scientists quiet.

Their plan all settled, the agents opened the door quickly, Bobbi with her staves in hand, hitting and electrifying the first guard in the neck, as she turned and applied a roundhouse kick against the second, and quickly hitting the man's chest with her two staves, knocking him out. At the same time, Leon had thrown his knife in the guard's hand, and taking advantage of his pain and distraction to slide over a table and knocking him out with a kick to the chest.

"Nobody moves!" Mack announced quietly, trying to keep his voice low as he closed the door. As the base's cameras was on looping, the longer they take to know that the room's central computer was raided, the better. At the same time, Bobbi has plunged a USB stick in the central computer and the scientist quickly started to download all the files there.

"Once finished, erase everything, all the research data of this lab." Leon added, picking up his knife and wiping it, before putting back on its holster.

"So far so good ..." continued the agent "Maybe i'll have some time to get a drink after here .."

"I thought you did not believe in going-smooth missions" Bobbi said, with a slight smile, but without taking her eyes of the scientists, trying to notice any suspicious movement.

"I don't, usually, but…who knows? Maybe you give me lucky, agent Morse .. "

"Hm ... that lucky is worth a drink?" Bobbi said, turning to Leon, still smiling and with one of her eyebrows raised.

But before Leon could answer, the room was invaded by a red light and a loud noise, similar to a siren while Hunnigan spoke to them with a urgent voice: "There was an accident, with Lickers ... they were preparing to transport them, and two of them fled and the security guards who were there…they're gone... "

"New plan ... Mack, gimme the explosives. Stay here and finish the download. I'll go down there, eliminate the BOW's, plant the explosives in the growth chambers and in their loaded B.O.W's container. When you guys are finished here, evacuate the scientist, and get out. I'll meet you on the outside. " Leon said, as he drew his gun and took the explosives from Mack, before heading toward the door.

"I'm going with you," Bobbi said, drawing her gun too and quickly adding, before Leon opened his mouth to object. "And that's not an argument ... of course, you cannot buy me a drink if you're dead ... so, are we going?"

Leon simply smiled slightly and the pair walked out the door. They were guided by Hunnigan to the accident site. At this point, there was scientists and a lot of the research base's staff running everywhere, trying to evacuate as quickly as possible, fearing that more creatures could escape. When they arrived in the designated area, it was already empty. There was only the bodies of the security guards.

Leon kept his voice low as he said: "They can be anywhere..they're able to climb the walls and are blind, so..." the agent put his finger to his lips and both moved by the large room. Inside was a number of large metal tubes, some within large containers, and others still outside. Inside these tubes were creatures. Submerged in a sort of greenish liquid, Bobbi could finally see what a Licker really looked like. And what her eyes saw was even more impressive and repulsive that the description of the files.  
The Licker was a humanoid creature, but with no skin, having a similar pinkish muscle like tone. In his hands, there were no fingers, but claws, with about 30 centimeters, and sharp enough to cause a good damage, even in her combat gear. His face was..disgusting ... there were eyes, his teeth were enormous and incredibly sharp and, the brain was fully exposed. The weakness, recalled Bobbi. The agent was taken from her thoughts when she heard a low sound that resembled the hiss of a snake.

It was then that she saw one of the creatures jump from the roof in Leon's direction. The agent rolled to the side, and raised his weapon, hitting a few shots into the creature's body, which was moving at an impressive speed. Before Bobbi could take aim, the agent saw, in the corner of her eyes, the second creature leaping in her direction, but she was not fast enough and thy both dropped on the floor. Bobbi could feel the breath of the monster while using one of her hands to hold one of the creature's claws as she tried to raise the other, still firmly holding her pistol.

The instant the creature lifted one of its claws, ready to hit the agent, she took her gun to the creature's face and fired once, making the Licker lost its balance, which gave the opportunity to Bobbi turn the creature on the ground, getting on top of it and being able to pull her gun on the exposed brain and shoot. One, two, three, four times, until the monster had stopped moving.  
Leon, in his turn had managed to hold the creature's tongue, and with a pull, brought the Licker near him, taking the chance to shoot at the creature's weak point, killing it.

"Good job Morse ..." Leon smiled, reaching out to Bobbi, who accepted his hand. Leon then gave one set of explosives to her: "Put this in the containers, I'll put in the chambers."

When the two agents were almost finishing installing the explosives, they heard the voice of Mack on the radio: "We are evacuating, the computer has been deleted and the turmoil is a great opportunity for us to get out easy, how things are down there?"

"Explosives are ready, we rendezvous out there, Mack." Said Bobbi.

Less than two minutes has passed since Mack and the scientist had left the base. They were waiting in a more remote area, when he saw his two companions approaching. Leon handed Mack the detonator, while adding: "It's a S.H.I.E.L.D mission after all..you can have the honors."

The agent then pressed the button and the four heard sounds of explosions and saw fire coming from inside the base. The explosion caused further confusion among the scientists and the staff of the laboratory, ensuring the group a safe getaway.

 

\- 4 Hours later, In some Edonian pub –

 

"Ok ... how you make Coulson give us the rest of the night off?" Bobbi said, as she glances her whiskey, supporting her face with one hand as she stared at Leon in a inquisitive way.

"Well, we already delivered the scientist, and the research data. It was a successful mission, we deserved it. "Leon smiled, winking one eye and taking a sip of his drink.

"Come on ... it will need more than that to convince me..Coulson is quite strict with schedoules..so is Fury .." Bobbi replied, smiling as she ran her hand through her hair.

"They owe me a favor…or two.." Leon said in an overly mysterious way, and then looked back at Mack, who was talking to a beautiful woman in the corner of the bar.

"It seems that Mack was already hooked by the exotic beauty of women from the Eastern Europe .." Leon said, changing the subject.

"You've already paid my drink" Bobbi said winking one eye "I'm sure you can impress some exotic beauty around here too .." the agent added, looking around.

Maybe it was the whiskey he'd been drinking, but Leon simply found himself thinking he had no need to seek exotic beauty anywhere. The woman sitting in front of him was by far more, beautiful than any of the woman in the bar, hell…in this country! Maybe it was the alcohol, but Leon simply said with a slight smile: "For what? You are much more beautiful than any other girl here… "

And it should probably be the alcohol because Leon could have sworn that Bobbi's smile widened, as her face slightly flushed, and he probably should have drunk a little too much, because seconds later her face was close to his, and Leon could feel the sweet scent that came from her, the smell of her shampoo and those eyes that looked like they could see inside of your soul.  
And Bobbi could probably blame her own whiskey, because she started to notice how Leon's smile was attractive, and the way his eyes were studying her every move or how his eyebrows moved, almost imperceptibly, when the agent caught a glimpse of anything interesting, or the way that the same eyes were fixed on an empty point in space as he told her about Raccoon City, about a rookie cop who survived hell and began a journey, not unlike hers, to protect people against evil they do not even see it.  
It could be the alcohol or the admiration that Bobbi felt growing for Leon, and was not long before their lips met, a shy kiss, at first, until Bobbi decides to bite, slightly, the lower lip of Leon and from there onward the kiss(es) were transformed into a "fight" for control: lips, tongue, hands. Every kiss releasing shockwaves through them, in a way that Bobbi had admitted to herself, only happened very few times (Barton ... maybe?) And then the small bar was too crowded for the two agents ...

 

\- Edonia the next day –

 

Leon opened his eyes, feeling the light on his face, blinking several times. He had no idea what time it was, but already felt the effects of a small hangover, but nothing too serious. He remembered the bar, the Whisky and Mack dancing with some girl ... and before his mind could continue, Leon felt some movement on the mattress where he was and took a few seconds for his mind to process the fact that he was naked and to really realize what had happened the night before. Leon couldn't help but smile as he turned to his side.

Bobbi was lying beside him, naked as he, covered by a sheet. Her hair was spread across her face, like a golden waterfall and Leon kept smiling noticing that even with messy hair and a sleeping face, she was still one of the most beautiful women he had ever seen.

Grabbing his cell phone, Leon noted that it was close to 11 am, they would have to be at the Helicarrier soon. The agent thought about taking a bath, and then wake Bobbi, but before he could get up, she opened her eyes, smiling as Leon was still there.  
"Hey, gorgeous ... you can rest a little longer, we still have time." Leon smiled, abandoning the idea of a bath and returning to bed, bringing Bobbi closer to him, gently resting her head on his chest.

"How much time do we have, Leon?" She said, wrapping Leon with her arms, while gently kissing his neck.

"About a couple of hours..time enough for a bath, maybe some breakfast..and other things."

"I liked the sound of other things ..." Bobbi replied, bringing Leon's face closer to hers, their lips now close together in a passionate kiss.

After their mission in Edonia, Leon and Bobbi kept in touch by phone. Even with the numerous missions and dedication of both of them to their respective agencies, they still had time to spend a weekend together in Nice, France, and had arranged to meet again in London a few months later, but the fall S.H.I.E.L.D and Bobbi's mission to infiltrate herself as an agent of HYDRA, and of course,the tragedy that culminated in the death of US president, Adam Bendford in Tall Oaks and the massive viral outbreak in Lanshiang, China, prevented their plans, forcing a departure that both of them thought be definitive.

Fate, clearly, had other plans ...

\- End of the Flashback -


	4. Nightmares

PRESENT TIME – USA

Leon could not believe the vision before his eyes, let alone the words coming out of his mouth:

"Stay right where you are ... Mr. President!"

But he was not listening. The President continued to move with crooked, uncoordinated steps. In his head, Leon could only scream silently: No no no no ... not Adam!

"Don't make me do this ..."

It was more a plea than an order. But in the dephts of his mind, Leon knew that President Bendford was lost. Even in the darkness of the room, the agent could see Adam's gray skin tone, the dried blood in the corner of his mouth, the lifeless eyes of the President of the United States of America.

Leon had killed many zombies before. But Adam was different, he was not only the President. Adam was his friend. Leon met Bendford shortly after the incident in Raccoon City. Bendford worked for the US government, and along with his partner, Phillip Coulson, in a joint operation with S.H.I.E.L.D, were tasked to interrogate the young policeman. Although Benford and Coulson were firm and categorical in making it clear that Leon knew too much, and that the safety of the young Sherry Birkin (the daughter of the scientist who, for all intents and purposes, caused the whole incident in Raccoon and who had been rescued by Leon ) was in his hands, both managed to convince Leon that this knowledge should be used, should be refined, so that something like Raccoon never have the chance to happen again. That's how Leon joined the government, received his training and began his long fight against bio-terrorism.

But even with all his experience, his training, nothing prepared the agent for what he saw before his eyes that day. The day of the big announcement where President Adam Bendford would reveal to the public all the knowledge that the US government had about the incident in Raccoon City. Adam was to put all the cards on the table, including the US Military involvement in the virus research of the Umbrella Corporation and accident which resulted. He was doing this so that both America and the rest of the world could work together to rid the world of the bio-terrorism that ravaged the planet over the past decade.

"It might create more problems than it solves", Adam confessed to Leon, hours before the incident, and the agent knew he was right, but admired the wish that there were no more secrets about Raccoon, he admired Adam's attitude and believed that this was the right step toward a victory that seemed increasingly complicated and far each day.

Bendford chose the Ivy University, in Tall Oaks for his statement, because was the city where he was born and raised and all seemed well that day. All security measures had been taken, everything, just everything seemed perfect. Until the time Leon was approached by a Secret Service agent with a terrified expression, saying the President was in danger, that an attack was coming. Leon was not on duty that day, visiting the University only to watch Adam's speech, but seeing the fear in the agent's eyes, both ran toward the office that was being used by Bendford.  
It was at this point that the lights went out, like a blackout, followed by confusion, shots, screams and running. When both arrived at the office, they met the President Bendford chewing the neck of the head of security.

"Don't make me do this ..." repeated Leon to the President, who now walked towards the Secret Service agent, who, like Leon, did not seem to have the necessary strength to pull the trigger.

Leon knew she would not shoot, and he knew he had to do something, otherwise the agent would die. His finger was still tense on the trigger, but in his mind he knew what had to be done, he knew what Bendford would like him to do.

By the time Adam advanced towards the agent, time seemed to stop, Leon's mind accepting the only thing that could be done, while his lips spoke the only thing they could at that moment ..:

"ADAM !"

Leon awoked in the darkness of his room, sweating and trembling, with his hands firmly holding the sheets. A nightmare, that's what Leon want to think it was, but it was not exactly a nightmare, it was a memory, still fresh in the agent's head.

Closing his eyes, Leon continued to see the unfolding of his memory: the shot hitting Adam's forehead, his friend falling to the ground, lifeless, just like another zombie in the midst of another bio-terrorist incident. It should have been a nightmare, but it was real. And from there things only got worse; a viral accident of huge proportions that devastated two cities in China, Leon's discovery that the bio-terrorist attack that caused the infection and death of Adam was caused by the government's Chief Advisor, Derek C.Simmons , which was tracked by the agent in China, and that has been infected with the C-Virus and killed by Leon and the Secret Service agent, Helena Harper.

The death of Adam, was obviously caused by his desire to reveal the truth to the world, which made Simmons thinks it would weaken the US position in the nations council and lead the world to chaos and a new struggle for power.

The bad news continued at Adam's funeral, when Leon received the information that the US government was going back on Benford position to reveal the truth to the world, afraid of all the repercussions that the incident in Raccoon City and Tall Oaks would cause between nations. Basically, Adam's death had been for nothing, considered just a "horrendous terrorist act."

The government was just hiding in the covers and pretending that nothing has happened, that the US knew nothing about Raccoon, and nothing about Tall Oaks, for the matter.

Leon was furious, yes, but more than this, he was completely disappointed. A disappointment that made him question his position and his work until that day. "Can you fight for something that has been built on lies for all this time, and still think that you're fighting for the right side?"

In Adam's funeral, Leon had the opportunity to meet Coulson again, and the agent made him an unexpected invitation:

"I know how it feels Kennedy, I KNOW how it is like, to discover that the real enemy was, sometimes, right under our nose. Be Simmons, or HYDRA, I know what is to question what we had been fighting for so many years. I need people I can trust..and you, my friend ... I think you need something to believe. Believe in me, believe in S.H.I.E.L.D, believe in what we stand for, to be the shield that protects mankind. Our work was never been so different, and I think we should do it together from now on. Think about..Leon. "

And then Coulson was gone, leaving Leon with only a small piece of paper and a phone number. That was two weeks ago, and Leon could not stop having nightmares and couldn't stop thinking about Coulson's words, "I think you need something to believe."

Leon could not trust the government, he could not believe in the politicians and Generals who had taken all the meaning of Adam's death. In the cowards who had made Derek C.Simmons win, even in death.

Perhaps Coulson was really right, maybe Leon need to see things differently, to fight this war with a new perspective. The agent took his phone, noticing that were 4 am, but he knew the person he was calling. He just knew he would not be sleeping.

The phone rang only twice and Leon simply replied, after hearing the "hello" on the other side of the line:

"I'm glad you're awake Phil. About that job offer ... it's still standing? "


	5. The Reunion

USA – IN SOME HIGHWAY

Leon was standing on the edge of the road in a largely deserted place. The last city he saw was about an hour ago and he and Sherry Birkin were sitting on the hood of her car. The place where they were was the meeting point Coulson designated for Leon, and then a SHIELD agent would come and take him to the "Playground", the secret base of the agency.

"He's a few minutes late...you think he will show up, Leon? I mean ... S.H.I.E.L.D has gone through difficult times. Who knows if anything has changed since the president's funeral ... " Sherry looked really insecure with the idea. Not only to be at some road in the middle of nowhere, but with Leon stop working for the government. One reason that inspired Sherry to follow this profession was the admiration she felt for Leon and when he began to doubt the government he worked under, it was enough to put doubts in the young agent's mind.

"He'll come, I trust Coulson" Leon noted the disapproval expression on Sherry's face and added: "And you should trust me. You and Ingrid are my eyes within the government. I don't like the way things are going, but I know that Simmons had a lot of people under his influence. I need you there to ensure that such people are not in total control of the country. Do this for Adam. "

"What about you?" Sherry asked, as both noticed a black SUV stopping up next to them, and Leon could hear the sound of the door being unlocked from the inside.

"I'll be doing it for him too. Take care kiddo, and keep'n touch ok? "Leon said as he hugged the young girl affectionately. In a way, since he saved Sherry in Raccoon City in 1998 and became the girl's legal guardian, Leon feel an almost fatherly feeling for her and did not feel 100% secure to leave Sherry in the government without his supervision. But she proved that she could be trusted, she proved in Lanshiang that she was well trained, that she was resourceful and Leon had been proud to see the woman that Sherry became. Moreover, she would have the support of Ingrid and Helena. She would be fine.

After they pulled out of the embrace, Leon kissed Sherry's forehead and pulled away, blinking one eye for the young girl as he entered the car. His hand moving, only by instinct, into his jacket, touching the hilt of his handgun, but relaxing at the sight of a familiar face, even though not exactly the one he expected.

"Agent Hill ... that's a surprise."

After Leon was already properly seated in the car and his backpack was already in the back seat, Maria Hill replied with a slight smile as she started the car and followed the road.

"Just Maria now. I'm not a agent anymore. "

"If that's the case ... then why you're not in prison or under strong government surveillance?"

Leon knew about the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D, when dozens of agents of the terrorist organization HYDRA infiltrated in the S.H.I.E.L.D for several years have been activated and attempted a coup that basically destroyed the agency from the inside, or at least most of it. Leon also knew that Coulson was the new director, but he was not sure of the amount of resources he had at his disposal, especially with most S.H.I.E.L.D agents being held by the army as a form of restraint, since it was virtually impossible to know who was loyal to S.H.I.E.L.D or HYDRA. Much of the equipment had also been destroyed or confiscated. Despite all this, Leon trusted Phil Coulson. If he had said that there was a way that he can do his job, then Leon trusted that decision.

"I'm not in prison because neither the army nor the government wants to have the headache of going against Stark Enterprise's lawyers."

"You're working for Tony Stark?" Leon smiled, shaking his head. "There's some way get an armor like that for us? I'm sure would be welcome, given the circunstances…"

Maria smiled: "It's not my department, but don't worry. S.H.I.E.L.D may be not at its best, but is still well equipped. You'll love the "Bus".

"I hope you're not referring to a real bus, or I'll be very disappointed ..."

The rest of the trip went smoothly, with both of them just small talking until the car stopped again in a more secluded place near a trail. Hill unlocked the car's doors and handed a note to Leon.

"Just follow these coordinates, the Director will be waiting for you there."

Leon positively nodded and was already out of the car when he heard Hill say:  
"And Leon ... take care of him, ok? I've heard him talk about you on more than one occasion. I know very well your skills as an agent, but Phil sees you well beyond that."

Leon smiled, adjusting his backpack and putting his sunglasses on as he said:  
"I know Maria, he always saw since the beginning, since Raccoon. I will not disappoint him, that you can be sure."

Leon waled for just about five minutes into the trail when he saw an off road car and Coulson waiting for him with a smile.

"Agent Coulson ... or should I call you Director Coulson now?"

Leon smiled, shaking hands with the director, who replied as they both entered the jeep:  
"Coulson is ok. I'm glad you accepted my proposal Leon. The situation is quite critical, and having someone like you, will help a lot. Again, I'm sorry for Adam. He was one of the best people I've ever had the chance to work with. "

"It's okay Phil, I appreciate the opportunity. If I had to enter the White House and look at any of those cowardly politicians in the eyes, I'd end up quitting myself anyway. "

Coulson smiled, nodding positively and started the car while gave Leon a tablet:  
"The files of your teammates are there, take a look, so you can already get an idea of who they are before you met them personally."

The trip was quiet, with Leon reading the information from agents working under Coulson's command. The agent only taken his eyes from the tablet when the car finally stopped and an secret elevator started to moving them down.

About a minute later, Leon was in a great underground base. Apparently they were in the car storage, as Leon could see some cars, a small jet and a huge plane.

"Welcome to the Playground. And if Maria mentioned the bus for you ... there it is. "

Coulson pointed to the large black plane, painted with the insignia of SHIELD. It was big enough to be a base of operations alone.

"In a little while we can take in the bus. Right now, I want to introduce you to your teammates. Come on, Leon. "

Coulson put a hand on Leon's back and guided him by the shed, reaching up to a workstation where there were several tables and a range of equipment such as weapons and other technological devices that Leon had no idea what they were used for. Among some agents working, Leon recognized one of the names in the files that have been passed to him by Coulson. Leopold Fitz, a brilliant Scottish engineer, responsible for many equipment designs used by Coulson's team. Leon also remembered that his file had mentioned that the engineer had been in a coma for nine days after an attack made by HYDRA and as a result, went through a rehabilitation period, with some speech and memory problems as consequences of the coma. Leon acknowledged another person next to Fitz. It was Mack, who according to the files, had joined Coulson's team after the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D.

Leon approached them, both with their backs turned to him and as he removed his sunglasses, he spoke with a grin:

"Small world, huh?"

They both turned and Mack smiled at the very moment he recognized Leon.

"But if it isn't agent Kennedy! He was the reinforcement you said you'd bring, Director Coulson?"

"That's right, Mack, Leon is one of us now." Coulson said, as he went to Fitz.

"Fitz, this is the Leon , our new specialist."

Leon shook hands with the young Scotsman, who said in a awkward way:

"Then you...will…um..replace,Ward, right?"

Grant Ward. Leon has read about him in the files. He was an HYDRA agent who was undercover on Coulson's team for months. It was because of Ward's actions that Fitz was in a coma. Grant Ward was trapped in one of the base cells right now. "Maybe I should pay him a visit later, know the enemy is always good.", thought Leon.

"You can trust him, Turbo, Kennedy is a nice guy, we worked together once."

On hearing Mack's words Fitz's tense expression relaxed a little and he smiled lightly and muttered that he had to go back to work on some projects.

"It's been hard for him, but he's a good kid. And he is recovering. "Coulson said, turning to Mack and Leon.

"I'll lend him a hand. It's good to have you onboard, Leon. Come to the garage later. We can have a beer and you can tell me what you've been doing for the past years."

Leon smiled again and shook Mack's hand, nodding his head positively and following along with Coulson.

Walking for a few more corridors, the agent acknowledged two more faces which appeared in the file. Melinda May and Skye. The two walked together talking about something (or rather, Skye was talking about something, May was just nodding positively.). Seeing the director, both went towards him and Leon has fallen little behind.

"DC! I'm glad you're here. I have a theory about ... "And Skye suddenly stopped talking when she noticed the stranger behind Coulson, who took the chance and gestured for Leon to take a step forward.

"Agents Skye and May, this is Leon , our new specialist."

Leon shook the hand of two women, while studying them superficially. Skye (No known surname) was a young American, looking no more than 25 years old or so. In her file it was mentioned that she had been raised in an orphanage and never had been a long time with any foster family. She went off the grid after turning 18 and was recruited personally by Coulson last year. She was a great hacker, and now that she was training with agent May, she was turning into a competent field agent. The fact that Skye had been recruited by Coulson personally reminded Leon of his own experience, after Raccoon City.

Regarding agent May, Leon had met her once, along with Coulson, when he was working with S.H.I.E.L.D in a mission many years ago. Any high-level agent has heard about the legendary hand-to-hand combat skills of Melinda May. But the agent that Leon saw before him was very different from cheerful May that Leon met in 2002. She was serious, stoic and with the exception of a small smile when greeting him, Leon didn't notice any more sign of emotion from her. Something has happened with her, for sure, and while Leon acknowledged it was a sad thing, this was not exactly unusual in their line of work. Leon already saw it happen with many agents before.

"Nice to meet you ... Kennedy…wait up! Leon , like the government agent who helped solve the case of the president's daughter's kidnapping in 2004 ?!" Skye looked very lively and intrigued, which caused Leon to give her a puzzled look:

"Yeah... but how the hell do you know all this?"

"Hacker." She said, pointing to herself: "One of the best, may I say ... and I always been interested in this kind of mysterious and kept-under-wraps type of conspiracy, then I simply hacked the Secret Service files and read your mission report. It was all true, right? The monsters, the troll and the killers parasites?"

Leon took a few seconds to compose himself, before turning his gaze to Coulson, questioningly, while the Director simply answered with a grin:

"We only recruit the best, Kennedy, you should know that by now."

Leon laughed and turned to Skye, adding:

"It wasn't a troll…and…you know what? Come in the garage later, Mack said he has beer and I can tell you all what happened. It makes more sense with have alcohol involved anyway. "

Skye gave him a wink, and patted Leon's should as she passes him by while saying: "Beer and monsters. I'm in. See you later…rookie "

Then she turned to Coulson, with a more serious expression:

"I have a theory about that thing we talked earlier, I'll show you later ok?"

Coulson nodded his head, and Leon and May did the same thing, saying goodbye silently as they advanced.

"Something I should know ... Phil? I know you're the director now, but secrets are one of the reasons I have left the Secret Service .. "

Leon's expression was not really serious, but his voice tone was firm.

"I'll explain everything later, I promise. In fact the last year was very long, but I plan to inform you about everything. When I said I wanted someone I really trusted here, I meant it. Especially after everything involving HYDRA. I will tell you, just trust me.

Leon nodded, as they went into another room, where there were some microscopes and laboratory equipment. There were some scientists working, and Leon recognized two other people in the files. The bio-engineer Jemma Simmons, just like Fitz, a brilliant young British woman with two PhD's in areas that neither Leon nor Coulson has the slightest idea what they were exactly. Simmons had just returned from an undercover mission inside HYDRA. She had a tired and frustrated expression and seemed to be talking about Fitz with the other person that Leon acknowledged as Antoine Triplett, a specialist filed agent like Leon, with considerable feats in his file and a lot of praising about his skills from his former bosses.

"Simmons, Tripp, I would like to introduce you to our new specialist. This is the Leon ."

Coulson made the introductions and Leon shook hands with both and was about to say something when he heard a very familiar voice coming from the lab entrance:

"Jemma, we have all the info you had on your HYDRA hard drive, but there's one thing I want to…"

Leon turned toward the voice, whose owner also stopped talking when their eyes met.

"Bobbi ..?"

Bobbi Morse. In person. And the first thing Leon did was thank silently that she was alive. Since the fall of S.H.I.E.L.D Leon lost contact with Bobbi, Coulson or any other agent. He tried to find them, but then came the disaster in Tall Oaks and the agent found himself wrapped in other situations who had devoted his full attention. More than once Leon wondered if Bobbi had survived or not. He had been relieved to see Coulson at Adam's funeral, but he did not dare ask about Bobbi. Not there. Especially because Bobbi had not tried to contact him for months, he was to afraid to hear Coulson telling him that she didn't survived.

"Leon ...?"

Bobbi looked confused and surprised, and that had been two things Simmons had not seen from her so far. A few hours ago Bobbi was kicking the asses of HYDRA agents and jumping from a building on top of an invisible plane along her without breaking a sweat. But at that moment, Jemma could swear that she seemed even slightly blushed. The new agent also seemed surprised as her, but it was he who broke the silence:

"Nice hair. Blonde is even better but...that is not bad at all…"

Bobbi laughed, still flushed, but relaxing slightly as the two embraced, even in a strange way, which made Jemma and Tripp exchanging looks and imagining if there was some story in there.

"I was undercover, inside HYDRA. But thanks anyway. Why are you here?"

When they pulled apart, Coulson said:

"Leon, just like you, is joining us. I think you guys will have no problem in working together ... right? "

Coulson was smiling and Leon was wondering if Bobbi's name had been left out of the files delivered to Leon on purpose, just so Phil could see the surprised look in his face. Coulson's smile also pointed that somehow he had known what happened in Edonia. Coulson always knew, God knows how, but he always discover this kind of thing.

"I have an issue to solve ... Bobbi is kinda new here, but I think she can show the rest of the playground to you? And then you can find me in my office in about an hour, all right, Kennedy? "

Leon and Bobbi nodded positively and both left the lab with a wave to Tripp and Jemma. Leon knew that probably in the moment they put their foots outside the laboratory, they will begin to talk about what they saw there. He did not blame them, to be honest. In a way, it was funny to see what kind of theory they would make in their heads.

Both walked in silence for a few seconds before entering the gym. There were several gym equipment and some mats there.

"This is the gym, it has everything you need ..." Bobbi began, but Leon said a little louder.

"You disappeared from the face of the earth. After the S.H.I.E.L.D fell. I didn't had a clue if you was dead or alive…"

Bobbi leaned on one wall, slightly lowering her head and letting her hair cover her face.

"It was a massacre...you know? And soon after came the opportunity to infiltrate HYDRA and I ... could not have any contact with anyone while in there. Everything happened so fast and I'm so sorry. I knew what happened...with the President. And in China..I was sure that you are there, I knew you had not died in Tall Oaks as reported (Leon had to fake his death in order to go to China, after the man who caused the accident in Tall Oaks.) but I was still undercover. I'm so sorry..."

Leon was silent for a few seconds before closing the distance between them, and putting one hand on Bobbi's face as he spoke:

"I don't blame you. You were doing your job. We are always doing our jobs, and I know, I know it always comes first. But I'll admit now that I feel much better having accepted this job, knowing that you're around, and alive..."

Bobbi smiled and Leon couldn't stop his own smile. It looked like the same smile he had seen in the few moments when they were together after Edonia, even though Leon was sure that he was seeing something more in Bobbi's smile. A hint of insecurity, perhaps? Leon was not sure, but a moment later it was gone and Leon decided to ignore whatever that was. Instead he just asked:

"I just wondered ...and you don't have to answer if you don't want to, but ... I was wondering…"

Leon stopped and Bobbi may had saw the concern in his eyes, because covered Leon's hand with her own and gave him a assuring smile while asked:

"What do you want to know ..?"

"How are we? After all that happened ... I know that we're not the same persons as before, but..."

Bobbi smiled, mainly because she was asking the same question to herself. She wante to make contact with Leon, especially after the incident in Tall Oaks. She knew that Leon would be devastated because of Bendford's death, but she couldn't do that without blow her cover. It was like Leon said, the job comes first, even if she doesn't feel good about. She also knew that getting involved with Leon again, in S.H.I.E.L.D, with everything that was about to happen, might not be a good idea, because, again, the job comes first. But she tried to silence that voice inside her head, as she leaned towards Leon and their lips met once again, not very different from that first kiss in Edonia.

Mack was entering the gym and froze when he saw the two agents kissing, trying to retreat before he was seen. Although Mack was genuinely happy to meet Leon, he was afraid this would happen. That the fire between Leon and Bobbi would end up starting again. And Leon was a dangerous variable in the mission that Bobbi and Mack had inside Coulson's team…


	6. There's Always a Third Option

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From this chapter onwards, this story begins to follow the second season of Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. But the things won't happen exactly in the same way they happened on the show. You guys probably noticed Hunter's abscence, I will not be using him, at least not for now. But Leon won't be simply replacing him, and he won't be in the same place as Hunter was. Sometimes he will, and sometimes he won't. So, this will not follow second season's script all the time, there will be some nice catches and surprises. Hoping you are enjoying, and comments, reviews and feedback are always appreciated.  
> Cheers!

Leon was already in S.H.I.E.L.D for three days and in that time, he had met most of the other agents working on the playground, and Coulson already informed him about most of the events prior the agent's arrival. But Leon knew that Coulson was still holding some information. But he would give him time, at least for now.

But there was a place that Leon had not ventured yet: the cell where Grant Ward was kept. He realized that when he saw Skye and Simmons talking about Ward while watching the monitor. Leon knew the story, he knew about all the horrible things Ward had done to the team, and could see the total disappointment in both women's eyes. Maybe it was time to confront Ward, to see how he would react to a new face.

Simmons and Skye were talking about Simmons's time undercover, when the two noticed, by the surveillance cameras, Leon's presence in Ward's cell. They saw the new S.H.I.E.L.D agent trigger the vision control of the cell, so that Ward could see him too.

"Skye...should we go there?" Jemma looked worried as she spoke. In fact anything related to Ward worried her since his betrayal.

"No...let's observe...at least for now."

If Ward was surprised to see Leon, he didn't show and the two stared at each other in silence for a few seconds until Ward said in a calm, neutral voice:

"By your stance, I believe that you should be the new specialist of the team. I don't remember you in any S.H.I.E.L.D file...I'm really surprised that Coulson can still recruit serious, trained people like you, because you do not strike me as a mercenary."

Leon remained silent, just smiling and showing Ward that he agreed with the prisoner's assumptions, then Ward continued:

"But I must admit...Coulson is good at recruiting specialists. You know? I can see a little of myself in you."

Leon gave a short laugh, crossing both arms over his chest as he answered:

"enlighten me about our similarities, Grant Ward..."

"You have cold eyes, you can mask it with irony all you want, but deep down you're probably like me, someone with much blood on our hands and and who would do anything to achieve our goal in a mission. As I did, with S.H.I.E.L.D ...oh, and I think you're probably a very good fighter. " Ward smiled at the last sentence, stepping back and sitting on his bed.

"Who knows? If you misbehave, maybe you can find out how much of a good fighter fighter I am?" Although he remained calm, Leon was uncomfortable to be there. Bothered because the man in front of him was someone who had nothing to lose, and that was the most dangerous kind of man.

"It may be true...but what are you doing here? If it is information about HYDRA you want, you're just wasting time. I said that I only talk to Skye. "

Leon shrugged as he replied: "Actually, I already got what I wanted..." After saying this, Leon pushed the button and activated the visual lock on Ward's cell, leaving the prisoner to see only a gray wall. Indeed, Leon did not want to ask anything to Ward, or extract any information. He just wanted to see him face to face, in the eyes, because he considered that this was the best way to know someone...and Leon didn't like it one bit of what he saw in Ward's eyes.

Leon was awakened from his thoughts when Skye entered the room with an apprehensive face and making a sign for the agent to follow her.

"What happened, Skye?"

"An attack on a UN meeting, made with our name on it…"

Hearing this, the two quickly step up to the briefing room, where they met Coulson and Tripp, who asked:

"Sir ... this wasn't us, right?"

Coulson shook his head with a disgusted look on his face:

"That was the HYDRA taking revenge. Probably they sent their people posing as S.H.I.E.L.D and made this mess for all the world to see…"

"Little by little undermining any kind of sympathy that people may have for us." Tripp added.

"So much for staying in the shadows." Skye replied.

Leon leaned on a table, crossing his arms as he agreed with her, while Coulson was giving the orders:

"I want Tripp and Skye scouring the government's channels, to see what are we up against...and Skye, that issue will have to wait for later. Leon, you come with me, we need an action plan."

"That issue" again, thought Leon. The agent did not really like that secrecy, but if Coulson was not willing to tell him now, maybe he should try to talk to Skye. Anyway, it would have to wait for another time. Clean S.H.I.E.L.D's name was more important right now. Leon and Coulson went into the next room as they watched Bobbi's arrival, walking behind them with quick steps. Leon noticed that she had dyed her hair blonde again, and smiled at her, receiving a slight, almost imperceptible smile back, before they both focused on the task ahead.

"Sir ... Marcus Scarlotti is behind this attack. An assassin who nearly killed Barton a few years back. Leader of a group of mercenaries who often works for HYDRA" Bobbi said, while used a tablet to show Leon and Coulson security camera images of the attack on the meeting of the UN.

Bobbi then switched the images for a larger screen, in the briefing room they were in and the trio noticed that the bodies virtually disintegrated during the attack. At this point, Jemma Simmons had already joined them, as she said:

"I saw references of this weapon in the HYDRA labs while I was there! They were sent by the demolitions expert Toshiro…"

"Mori" completed Bobbi: "I bumped into him a few times. He has a laboratory in Okinawa. "

"The BSAA and the DSO (the sector of the Secret Service who took care of biological threats, where Leon was a member.) has been trying to get their hands on this guy for a while. We already had evidence that he was producing some new type of B.O.W, including some of his designs that were sold to the now extinct Neo-Umbrella. Plus, there is all the conventional weapons he sells to HYDRA. Big Fish." Leon added.

"Perfect. Then it is to Okinawa that you're two are going. We need to find the location of the next attack, and stop it before it happens. May will lead the operation. Meet with her in the hangar."

The two agents nodded and quickly stepped down the hall towards the hangar.

"Three days here and you're already wrapped in an international crisis, chasing a guy who distributes lethal biological weapons across the world. I bet you feel at home, agent Kennedy. "Bobbi said, smiling slightly as they went walking.

"Oh, sure. Is actually very much like my old job, I thought I would have a James Bond life in here...with espionage, secret gadgets, using suits like Coulson all the time..not to mention all the gorgeous girls…"

Bobbi narrowed her eyes at Leon, but the agent could sense the playful way she had done, but then amended, smiling:

"But I can skip the part of the gorgeous girls in the plural. One gorgeous, blonde girl is enough for me. "

"You're learning fast, ..." Bobbi smiled as they entered the hangar where May was standing, near the Quinjet, the S.H.I.E.L.D's operations jet.

OKINAWA, JAPAN

The agents was in front of a monitor, thinking about the best action plan to be taken. May looked at the images on the screen, pondering for a while before speaking:

"We have two options: One, firefight. Surprise them and take down as many as we can, until they bring heavy artillery."

Leon twisted his lower lip, asking, "And the second option…?"

"I use my HYDRA cover." Bobbi said: "A cover that can be blown but ..."

"That's why I like option 1 more" May said, as she placed a clip on her handgun.

"I suggest an option three." Leon said, as both focused their eyes on him. "We enter, but without a huge firefight, alerting everyone. His security system has some blind spots. We can stealth infiltrate and catch Toshiro. Then, we make him talk..."

"I don't know if he will talk, even under pressure or torture. Maybe I should try to use the cover. I know Toshiro. Perhaps with a little flattery he may slip out on the information. I think it is worth the risk..." Leon held up a hand while Bobbi spoke, using his communicator to call Skye.

"Hey Skye, can you hack the DSO's servers and get information about Toshiro Mori?"

"You want me to hack your previous agency?" Skye said, with a hint of doubt on her voice.

"I'm probably already out of their login system by now, moreover we are in a hurry. And I thought you'd like a challenge. The DSO's firewalls had been upgraded a few months ago."

Leon could hear the tapping of keys from the other side as she added:

"Leon, Leon…you know how to instigate a girl." Leon knew she was joking, but could not help but shake his head slightly. A few minutes passed before everyone could hear Skye's voice:

"Ok ...'m in. It was fun, but these firewalls are not that great, sorry-not-sorry. What do you need? "

"Mori has a sister, Azuka. I want the address. "

"A sister ..." May said, more to herself, beginning to understand Leon's plan.

"Sending to your PDA's. That's all? "

"For now yes, Skye. Thanks. "

Bobbi crossed her arms, still doubting Leon's plan: "I understand you want to use his sister against him, but how do we prove to him that we actually are a threat to her? Knowing Toshiro, his sister must be very well protected. "

Leon smiled, this time using his phone, and waiting in line for a few seconds before speaking:

"Bristol. It's Leon. I need you and the boys to do me a favor….what do you get? My eternal gratitude ... and that bottle of Macallan 18 years on my shelf that I know you could not stop watching last time. "

And Bobbi could feel the "pain" in the Leon's voice as he mentioned the expensive whiskey brand, but could not help but smile when she realized that Leon was willing to do that for her safety, or at least the maximum safety that she could have on a mission like that.

"Okay, I need you to go to the address that I will send and await my orders there, got it?"

When Leon hung up, May said:

"May I ask what you're doing?"

"Arnie Bristol is one of my contacts in the Secret Service. His team is here in Japan. They're good. We can use them to scare Toshiro. I do not intend to hurt his sister or anything like, if that's what worries you. But Toshiro don't need to know that. Trust me, May, everything will be OK. We just need to take down some guards and reach Mori, preferably stealthy. "Leon said as he put a silencer on his handgun.

May pondered for a few seconds, turning her gaze to Bobbi, who replied: "It might work ...Mori's really attached to his sister ..."

"OK then. We follow with option 3. Get ready. Skye, the communications are on-line?"

"Intercepting data, and...voila! We have audio and visual of the mansion's complex, and access to his communications. We're good to go. Be careful, guys."

And with that the three agents stepped out of the jet, preparing to infiltrate Toshiro Mori's mansion. The plan was relatively simple, with the trio spreading and stealthily knocking the guards who were on their way, meeting in Toshiro's room where the interview would be done.

Leon chose the northeast side, not having much trouble climbing the walls and using the garden's shadows to cover his way in. With Skye's help in determining the two guard's position Leon knocked them both with well-aimed shots from his silenced pistol, and managed to get to the backdoor.

Bobbi chose the north entrance, managing to circumvent the electronic garage door with Skye's advice, and using her electrified staffs to knock out one of Toshiro's men, who had no time to react, with Bobby quickly hitting his leg, chest and head.

May took the roof path, jumping between them with agility and used an unlocked window on the second floor to arrive in a hallway, stealth knocking one of Mori's man on the process.

By the cameres, Skye could see the three agents paving their way and she could not help but feel admiration for all three. The way they fought and knocked down their targets, without excess, without mistakes, hiding the bodies and simply advancing the mansion as if they were ghosts was amazing. Skye hoped that one day she could be like this. She knew that the training with May was paying off, but she was still far from the level of these three, at least in this type of mission. She commented, while Bobbi and Leon approached May's position, who was closer to the mark:

"Wow...I almost feel like I'm watching someone playing Metal Gear..."

Skye could hear Leon stifle a light laugh as he answered:

"Too bad I did not bring a cardboard box ... that would be epic!"

Leon saw Bobbi and soon he went to join her and May. Thanks to an audio looping caused by Skye, Mori's security guards continued to hear the standard answers, recorded before they were knocked out, during the perimeter checks. They were safe for now.

Leon and Bobbi approached the door, where both would come in and May would guard the hallway in case there were any suspicious movement. With a quick movement, the two agents entered the bedroom and quickly closed the door, with their guns pointed at one surprised Toshiro Mori, who spilled the drink he was sipping. Before he could say anything, Bobbi said in Japanese (which greatly surprised Leon):

"Any movement or change in your voice, and I'll shoot you, okay, Toshiro?"

The Japanese arms dealer still looked stunned, and answered in his native language:

"So the rumors were true. You REALLY works for S.H.I.E.L.D..."

"Hey, hey! Let's talk in English, please, and let's make this quick. I don't have all night"

Leon said, with a irritation tone on his voice. Bobbi knew that was part of the act they would play there. Bobbi then spoke again, this time in English:

"The mess Scarlotti did at the UN this morning...that were your toys, is isn't?"

"Yes, but if you came after them, you're losing your time. I already dispatched all them in the morning."

"Where?" Asked Leon.

"..."

Bobbi spoke again, trying to keep a steady voice:

"Are you afraid of what HYDRA can do to you, if you tell? Because we can do a lot worse…"

"You can arrest me. I will not tell."

Leon laughed, lowering his gun and sitting on the bed where Toshiro was:

"Arrest you? We will arrest you IF you cooperate. And believe me, you will. But the longer it takes for it, the more consequences will have…"

"You can torture me, I will not say ..."

"Toshiro, Toshiro...we will not torture you." Bobbi noticed that Leon's voice tone,his body language and even his look had changed from one moment to another. She knew it was an act, but could not deny that was pretty convincing. Leon then handed Mori a tablet, showing images of a building, as if they were camera attached on the helmet of soldiers, one of them seemed to be in a high position and in his camera they could see the sights of his sniper rifle, pointing to a young woman who was reading on a couch without having any idea of what was happening outside.

"You recognizes that building, Mori? I know you do." Leon took his cell phone, dialing a number and then putting on the conference, so Mori could hear it too:

"Bristol, 's security guards have been knocked out?"

The cold voice from across phone answered quickly:

"Yes sir. We are in position."

"Damn! Azuka has nothing to do with all this! S.H.I.E.L.D can't not do this! You wouldn't dare! She's innocent, Barbara!"

Mori looked at Bobbi in a pleading way, but still refusing to cooperate.

"These are desperate times Toshiro. And the blame is all yours. I'm sorry." Bobbi said.

"Well, if that's how you're gonna play Mori, fine. Advance! "

Toshiro could see men begin their moving around the building and they were about to approach the first when the dealer said:

"Alright, alright! I talk! But stop this! Now! "

"Wait. Hold, Bristol, and wait for my orders. Now, about those bombs. What are they?"

"Splinter bombs. They're based on an old HYDRA prototype. I shipped all of them to Whitehall, to try to gain his confidence, and maybe an opportunity to work on the Diviner."

"Diviner?" Leon asked, wondering if it would not be the alien weapon that Coulson had mentioned to him earlier. An Obelisk of unknown origin that transforms those who touch in stone.

"Yeah...they say it is alien or something. I just wanted to put my hands on him...not literally, of course..."

Leon and Bobbi exchanged a quick glance, both recognizing that probably Mori was referring to the Obelisk. Bobbi approached, asking in a more impatient way:

"Where did you send the bombs Mori? Because if you're trying to buy time to your security team to get here…that will not happen. So unless you want something to happen to your sister, you better stop stalling us..."

"Beckers. Belgium's prime minister. Scarlotti's team is going after Julien Beckers."

"Great…" Leon put his hand on his ear, activating his communicator. "May, prepare a dispatch plan to Mori. We have achieved our objective here."

Leon and Bobbi exchanged another look, preparing to remove Toshiro from the room. The dealer took the window of opportunity in which the two agents were apparently distracted to open a drawer and pull out a gun. Unfortunately for him, Bobbi and Leon were not distracted, having enough time to raise their handguns and shoot Toshiro at the same time.

"Uhn...abort the extraction plan for Mori…just cancel it." Leon said on the radio, while they were exiting down the hall.

Minutes later, back to the Quinjet, the trio had already taken their seats while the aircraft had left the ground:

"Beckers is one of the men who's trying to keep the peace, not declaring open war on S.H.I.E.L.D...if Scarlotti kills him, using our name..." Bobbi began, slightly shaking her head after thinking of the consequences.

"Then all countries will begin a witch hunt against us." Leon added, while May adjusted the travel coordinates, before speaking:

"Contact Coulson. We have to reach Belgium and stop the attack, or it will be us against the world, and I don't know if we can win this battle…"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In the next chapter: Beat'n up on Belgium and Leon X Ward!


	7. Choices

Chapter VII – Choices

The agents flew towards Belgium, while Coulson was telling them the news:

"I made a deal with the Senator who was bombing us in the press, Christian Ward. We'll give his brother, and he can use him to win some votes."

"Of course, who would not vote for a man so upright and honest, who's able to take up his own brother to trial for the crimes he committed on HYDRA's behalf. At least, the Senator can put up a good word for us now." added Leon, with a disgusted tone, the same tone that usually appeared when the agent talked about politics, especially after what happened in Tall Oaks.

"Ok, we'll arrive in Belgium soon. We have to get to Beckers before HYDRA does". May said, in the same calm and cold tone, as always.

"I don't need to remind you that if Beckers is killed, the UN will come after us, even with Senator Ward at our side."

"No pressure..." amended Bobbi, twirling her staves as she watched a screen showing the map of the place they'll be landing.

The moment they ceased communications with the Quinjet, Simmons, Mack, Fitz and Tripp rushed in Coulson's office.

"Sir, we had discovered that the original design of the bombs made by Toshiro Mori was created by an HYDRA scientist during the World War II. His name was Vincent Beckers!" Jemma shot, talking really fast, while Skye started to type something on her tablet, moving Vincent Beckers's data to a big screen.

"Vincent Beckers is Julien's grandfather, and we believe that the HYDRA connection is still alive in the family." Continued Jemma.

"Julien and Whitehall travel records..." began Skye.

"Coincide at least 12 times in the last five years. It can't be a coincidence! " Tripp completed.

 

"This makes no sense..at all." Fitz said, shaking his head as he looked at Mack, who completed his thought:

"Why HYDRA is targeting one of their own operatives?"

"We've been played! Put May on the line Skye, now! "

The agents wasn't expecting to hear Coulson's voice so soon:

"Team, we have a problem. We were deceived. The target is not Julien Beckers! He is HYDRA. Beckers pretended to be on S.H.I.E.L.D's side, offering asylum to our agents on purpose. And I sent agent Walters's team there. It's a trap! Scarlotti's mercenaries will surprise our agents, and anyone else who try to seek asylum in Belgium." Coulson said, and although his voice was calm, Leon could see the stress starting to appear.

"I'll try to contact agent Walters, hold up." Bobbi said, trying to establish communication for a few minutes, until speaking in a worried tone: "No response, they may be already in trouble. "

"We are entering the area. Skye, send a message to our agents, to avoid Belgium." Leon replied as he checked his weapons. The agent can see how naturally he had used the expression "our agents" and was glad to be adapting this fast. He liked his teammates, the dedication and commitment of all pf tem in this hard fight. Leon did not know any of the agents on Walters's team, but was hoping to be in time to be able to save them.

"We're landing in 2 minutes, Coulson. I'll call you back when we have Scarlotti in custody." Completed May before disconnecting the communications and activating the Quinjet's camouflage, so they could land as close as possible to the area while undetected.

Due to the urgency of the moment, there was no time to make a plan. The internal cameras of the S.H.I.E.L.D safehouse where Walter's team was had been turned off, so there was nothing to Skye and the others could do.  
Leon went straight to the front door, standing on the side of it, and giving three knocks on the door. As the agent predicted, a hail of bullets left a lot of holes in the door.

"Okay, they are shooting the door, go!" Leon said by radio and could hear the sound of breaking glass, when May and Bobbi broke into the house through the living room's windows, surprising most of Scarlotti's mens. Both agents hitting one of the HYDRA's mercenaries. Scarlotti seeing the arrival of them, ran upstairs, while Leon walked through the front door, now that the mercenaries's attention had turned to the windows, kicking the leg of an HYDRA's agent, causing her to kneel while disarming the other agent beside her. The agents noticed several bodies of other S.H.I.E.L.D companions on the ground, dead, while Walters was leaning on a wall, with what looked like a knife wound in the abdomen, but still alive.

May ran upstairs, behind Scarlotti, leaving Leon and Bobbi against the other five mercenaries. The kneeling woman stand up to Leon, attempting a punch that was soon blocked and being taken to the ground with a kick to the chest by Leon, who had to roll to the side to dodge the kick of a mercenary. Bobbi had drawn her staves, using them to block the blow of the first mercenary, hitting him in the leg, causing him to bend and jumping on top of him in order to kick the other man on the face. Leon and Bobbi then hit the same mercenary, first with a punch (and a staff blow on the face) and then sweeping him at the same time. They had not worked together for a long time, but both quickly realized that their battle connection was still pretty much strong.

With one of the HYDRA's mercenaries knocked out, it was four against two. Bobbi was fighting with two of them at the same time, using her staves to block the punch and kick that came towards her, holding the arm of one of her opponents and passing one of the staves by his leg, making the mercenary spin in the air and head slam on the floor, knocking him out. Leon was also fighting two attackers, holding the leg of one of them who tried to kick him, twisting the leg of his opponent and making him spin in the air and them hitting him with a swift kick, putting him out of action.

That left only two mercenaries. Bobbi had just kicked one of them away, and that was when Leon saw that the man kicked by Bobbi had taken one of the Splinter Bombs from his coat and in the instant he threw the bomb in Bobbi's direction, Leon switched sides with the mercenary who was fighting with him, kicking the woman in front of Bobbi, and towards the bomb. The contact of the device with the mercenary made her body disintegrate and turn to dust, just like what happened with the UN members in the attack. Seizing the opportunity, Bobbi jumped, turning sideways with her staves and going through the woman's ashes, hitting the last mercenary's head, knocking him out too.

"You got my back…thanks." Bobbi said, smiling quickly while Leon was going toward her, placing one his hands on the agent's cheek: "Are you okay?"

"Uh-huh...go help May, I'll take care of agent Walters" Bobbi said as Leon agreed and quickly ran upstairs.  
Leon arrived at the exact moment that May was kicking Scarlotti to the ground. Her face was a little bruised and her neck had red marks, but the mercenary on the floor was way worse. "Well, and I thought you needed some help up here..."

May just rolled her eyes and both ran down the stairs, but Bobbi's expression of grief, crouched beside the body of Walters said it all. They had come too late to save the life of that S.H.I.E.L.D team. The only consolation Leon could think of was the fact that they're had taken Scarlotti and his team down. But that thought did not make him feel better, especially with the amount of good agents lost today.

The return trip to the Playground was silent. May wasn't a talking person anyway, and even for Leon and Bobbi, who did not knew the agents killed that day, it was inevitable for them to feel a sense of failure, or at least that their victory over Scarlotti and his mercenary team has been a very bitter one. The two agents were on the plane floor, side by side, hand in hand, with the Bobbi's head leaning on Leon's shoulder, both silently reflecting everything that has happened that day

4 Hours Later –The Playground

Leon and the rest of the team had already returned from Belgium, thanks to incredible speed of the Quinjet. The agent was in Coulson's office, who was preparing the paperwork for Ward's transfer.

"You called me, Phil?"

"I know you must be tired, Leon, but I'd like you to do something for me ..."

Leon nodded and approached the table while Coulson stood up and gave him the transfer papers:

"We will transfer Ward's custody to the government. He is his brother's problem now and a Secret Service team is coming to pick him up. I want you to accompany them. As you were a Secret Service agent, I believe that they will not mind. "

Leon nodded positively, adding, "Do you think he will try to escape?"

"I don't know. But he knows that his brother will try throw him on the death row. He has nothing left to lose…"

"Why not use a tranquilizer and make him travel unconscious?" Questioned Leon, with his arms crossed over his chest.

"I thought about it, but Senator Ward wants the cameras to show his brother being delivered to justice, so that everyone can see, the great " hero" he is..." Coulson said, with a disdain tone in his voice. He didn't like the idea. He was certain that Ward would try something, but with Leon going along, maybe he could stop him.

"Okay. Phil. I got this." Leon said, turning to leave, but not before hearing Coulson said:

"Thank you Leon, knew I could count on you. I'll meet you downstairs. "

After descending the stairs, Leon went to the garage, where the transfer would take place. While waiting for the arrival of the Secret Service team Leon saw Skye approaching, with an apprehensive expression.

"You'll go with them, Kennedy? To transfer Ward?" Skye asked, biting her lower lip as she leaned back on the wall.

"Yeah...Coulson wants me there in case Ward try something." Leon saw Skye silently nodding, but still looking at him with a tense expression, until Leon placed a hand on her shoulder while using the same secure voice tone he used with Sherry years ago, whenever the girl became worried about Leon missions:

"Don't worry Skye, I'll be fine. I survived Raccoon City on my first day of work. Come on..." Leon smiled extending his fist to Skye, who fistbumped Leon's hand, saying: "Just take care, okay?"

Skye turned away, seeing Bobbi, who was also sporting a worried expression, though not as much as the others, perhaps because of her years of experience.

"I will not ask you to be careful. I know you will, but keep your eyes open, please? Ward is as dangerous as you. "

Leon nodded positively, while the two agents held hands.

"I'll be back before you know it, and then we'll only have a thousand more problems to solve before we fix this whole mess with HYDRA, but we will get there..."

Leon smiled and glanced around the garage, realizing that there was no one paying attention to them. The agent leaned forward, joining lips with Bobbi, practically stealing a kiss, but before he could move away, Bobbi leaned in his face, deepening the kiss for a few seconds until they depart, while both heard the arrival of the Secret Service team. Leon smiled at Bobbi again and headed toward the newcomers, while all of them turning heads to Ward, shackled at the hands and feet and surrounded by S.H.I.E.L.D agents

Ward was placed on the back of a military vehicle, sitting between two agents in one of the side seats. Leon sat facing him, along with another agent, while two others were in the front seat, where there was a bulletproof glass, to prevent anyone who was in the back of the vehicle to reach the driver.

 

The quiet travel bothered Leon and the other agents, creating a tense atmosphere, because no one knew the moment that Ward could try something. The moment came when the military vehicle was almost rammed by a truck. The balance of the vehicle caused Leon to take his eyes off Ward for a moment, to look at the road and that was the moment Leon heard Ward's wrist being dislodged and his hand became free from the cuffs.

Everything happened incredibly fast. By the time they realized that Ward had a hand free, he managed to elbow the agent beside him and pushed the other to the vehicle floor. Leon moved toward Ward, blocking the prisoner's kick, while Ward blocked the agent's punch. Leon managed to headbutt Ward, while the prisoner used his legs to push Leon back to his place on the other side of the vehicle. Taking advantage of that, Ward grabbed the agent who he had pushed to the ground, moving behind him as he took the men's gun and pointed to his head.

"Ward, low that gun! There's no way you'll get out here!" Said Leon, while the other agents pointed their guns at Ward, who was leaning against the vehicle door, using the other agent as a shield.

"The only way to stop me, is shooting through him, and I don't think you will want that. So, I'll open this door and get out with him, and when I see that I am not being followed, I'll release this man. If I realize I'm being followed, I'll blow his brains out! I want you to know this, agent Kennedy: I'm not the enemy here. Tell Coulson he'll receive a gift from me, very, very soon..." Ward said as he opened the rear door and jumped out, still using the agent as a shield.

Leon could not hit him without hitting the agent. He knew he had to stop Ward, but at what cost? If to arrest the bad guys he would need to start killing innocent men, what's the point of this work? Leon knew he should shoot them both and stop Ward, but since the attack on the UN this morning, many good men and women had lost their lives. He would not add an agent who was just doing his job to this count

 

Leon could only watch as Ward walked away with his hostage, taking advantage of the fact that they are in a fairly deserted road, and that was a lot of side vegetation. They waited for about twenty minutes until Leon could hear the voice of the hostage on the radio, saying that Ward had handcuffed him and fled. Despite knowing that the hostage was alive, that they had captured Scarlotti and Senator Ward had helped to relieve the army and the government pressure on S.H.I.E.L.D, even after all this, Leon could not shake the feeling that he had failed two times that day. On the other hand, the agent also was sure that even if he weren't there, Ward would escape anyway, and worse, perhaps without his presence he could had killed all other agents on the vehicle.

Leon would capture Ward, sooner, or later, that he vowed to himself. One of the aspects of working with S.H.I.E.L.D is to make such hard choices and in the end, Leon not regretted the choice he made today, after all, if he didn't try to save one life, he would never save any.


	8. Secrets

PLAYGROUND - 4 am

Leon had kept his eyes open in bed for about 2 hours. His gaze had become accustomed to the dark room and he was able to notice all the silhouettes of the furniture inside. He tried to sleep at first, but soon realized it was no use. Leon and his companions spent the last two days looking for Ward’s trails throughout the country, through traffic cameras and monitoring every one of his safehouses, and of course, chasing HYDRA, as usual. Senator Christian Ward had managed to cover up his brother’s escape and still maintained his support for S.H.I.E.L.D. Things improved a little, but not much and although he was tired, there was enough adrenaline and concerns in Leon’s mind and body.

When looking at the display of his cellphone and noticing that it was already 4 am, the agent just gave up and decided to get up. Maybe take a look at the stars outside, do some training or shooting. Anything was more productive than just staring at the ceiling in his room.

Leon got up slowly, trying to make as little noise as possible, because of Bobbi, who was sleeping in his bed. Bobbi was tired as Leon, but differently, slept quickly when the two went to bed two hours ago. Satisfied that Bobbi was still sleeping peacefully, Leon dressed his training clothes and left his room, still trying not to make any noise.

The agent decided to do a little training, so he moved to the kitchen, taking a bottle of water with him. When making his way back through the corridors toward the gym, Leon walked through Coulson's office door, but stopped with a curious expression when he listened to music coming from the room. The agent thought that Coulson could be working, it would not be so strange. The music on the other hand, was very unusual.

Leon had his hand on the doorknob when he saw Skye approaching him, with a startled expression. The music in Coulson's office, Skye’s alarmed expression. All things that did not fit, along with "that thing" that the two of them discussed so much this days. Of all the people Leon had met since he joined S.H.I.E.L.D (excluding Bobbi and Coulson, of course), Skye was the one that Leon was getting along more fine and he thought they could really be great friends in the future, but only after this "issue" was solved. It was time to end all the secrecy. 

"I think it's time for you to tell me what's going on here. I didn’t came to S.H.I.E.L.D to be kept in the dark. And you know what I’m talking about “ Said Leon, still with his hand on the doorknob.

Skye watched him for a second before shaking her head positively, as she said, "You're right...and DC was already intending to tell you anyway. But...maybe it's better for you to see it.”

The scene playing in front of Leon as he opened the door was at least unusual. The wall behind Coulson’s desk was without it’s protectitive panel, displaying a green frame where they were carved various symbols, circles, dots, lines, but without any pattern that Leon could identify. Coulson had not noticed the presence of the two agents, and continued to make the symbols on the wall, using a knife, carving them as if in a trance.   
Leon was about to say something, but heard Coulson cursing as the tip of his knife broke, and Skye took the opportunity to raise the needle of the record player (another item of Coulson’s collection) that filled the room with music.  
The director turned, still bewildered, his eyes in Leon and Skye:

"How long have you been here?"

"Long enough." Skye said in a serious tone, as she continued: "May gave us specific instructions. If you had to go to a meeting with the crazy wall, I go along.”

"I didn’t wanted to wake you up..." said Coulson, slowly regaining his composure.

"Do I look like I’ve been sleeping? And I’m not the only one either;" Skye said, looking at Leon, who decided to speak:

"Alright...what the hell's going on here? And don’t tell me that's a long story, Phil. I think nobody here will go back to bed anyway. "

"You're right, Leon. It's time for you to know it..." Coulson said, sitting on the floor, while Leon and Skye sat in front of him.

"Can I?" asked Coulson, pointing at the water bottle that Leon was holding.

"Sure.." Leon watched as Coulson drank nearly half the bottle and finally began to speak:

"The Battle of New York, you remember it, right?"

"I remember. When the Avengers saved the day. I wasn’t in the country at the time, I was trying not to die in the Middle East, hunting a bio-terrorist. But my parents and my sister are from New York, as you know it, Phil. My father's precint served as a civilian refuge. I still remember him saying that he spoke face to face with Captain America." Leon answered.

Coulson smiled at the mention of his idol, but his expression turned serious soon after, and he continued: "In this battle I died. Director Fury then used a formula called GH-325 to bring me back to life."

Leon shook his head, raising an eyebrow: "You died…and some formula brought you back from the dead?"

"Long story short, GH-325 is a chemical compound derived from an alien’s blood. One of the effects is complete regeneration of any injury, as long the body is preserved. S.H.I.E.L.D changed my memories so that I could forget the procedure, but I recovered some time later. Skye…" Coulson nodded to Skye to continue and returned to drink the remaining water.

"I was also injected with GH-325, when I was shot on a mission last year. DC moved worlds to bring me back, the same way Fury did for him." Skye said as she joined both hands in her lap, looking into Leon’s eyes.

"Well, New York was invaded by aliens from another dimension and was saved with the help of a green giant, a guy in an armor suit and the Norse god of thunder. In China I faced a guy who basically turned into a T-Rex in front of me. I can accept the existence of this formula, it isn’t the weirdest thing I’ve ever seen. But what does this have to do with those symbols? It is a side effect?” Leon asked, running a hand through his hair.

"It started after I saw the same symbols on John Garrett’s wall. He was one of the HYDRA agents who had infiltrated S.H.I.E.L.D. Garrett had injected himself with the formula in an attempt to cure a fatal disease. When I saw the symbols, I felt like something had woken inside me, something I can’t control. I try, but at some point it becomes impossible to hold . I had made a deal with May and Skye to only do the “writing on the wall” thing under their eyes. Now...I think I can count on you, right Leon?" Coulson asked, now much more calm and with a fully stable voice.

Leon shook his head positively as he said. "Of course, Phil" And then turned to Skye, asking: "What about you? You feel this compulsion to carving the symbols? And what they mean, after all?"

Skye shrugged and said: "No...never. This formula never affected me at all, to be honest. We don’t know why. And we don’t know what the symbols mean. I have a theory that is a map, but of what, or leading to where, I don’t have a clue. I've tried to compare with constellation maps, navigation charts, genome diagrams. Nothing hit, nothing."

"But I need you to continue working on it, Skye." Said Coulson, who continued: "They are getting more frequent. It used to be one or two times per month. Then once a week, but now… it’s coming every night. I can’t turn it off. "

Skye’s face changed from frustration to concern as she asked: "Every night? How you’re sleeping?”

Coulson, with a serious and weary expression, simply replied: "That's why we have to find these answers soon, Skye and Leon."

"At least when we find these answers, they will come all at once." Leon said, also with a worried expression.

"I like your optimism. Only one thing, Leon. Let's keep this between us for now. It's not that I don’t trust our team, but they already have too many concerns, with HYDRA and Ward on the loose. I hope you understand..."

Leon sighed and shook his head positively. Although he didn’t like the decision, he knew Coulson was right.

"Hey, that includes Bobbi, okay? At least for now. " Asked Skye, placing a hand on Leon’s shoulder.  
“I got it, Skye" Leon smiled and turned to Coulson: "But you will have to do me a favor too. Go rest, Phil. It's five in the morning. At least for another hour, or I bring everyone down here to see your mysterious wall." Leon said in a warm tone.

Coulson laughed and said he would take a bath and then get some rest, leaving the office and letting Leon and Skye alone.

"Still not sleepy?" Asked Leon.

"Not at all…" Said Skye in a tired voice, but Leon knew it was a mental and not physical fatigue.

"So how about a sparring session? I want to see what agent May is teaching you"   
Leon smiled, going to the door, followed by Skye, who gave the agent a challenging smile: “Deal, agent Kennedy.”

One day later

Leon, Bobbi, May and Tripp were preparing their equipment. The team had narrowed Ward’s position at an acceptable perimeter and Coulson had ordered his recapture. Ward was good, but would not have any chance against the four specialists. The team was already in the Quinjet’s boarding ramp when Skye entered the hangar, with quick steps, and a raised arm, shouting Leon’s name.

The four of them turned, watching Skye while Leon approached the agent:

"What's happened?" Asked Leon.

"There was a murder connected with HYDRA. Coulson wants you to investigate the case with me...." at the end, Skye lowered her voice so that the others at the ramp could not hear it: "It's about the symbols..."

"Understood. Give me just a minute Skye, and we can go see the director"

Leon turned to the ramp, nodding his head positively to May and Tripp, who stepped into the aircraft, and approached Bobbi, holding the woman’s hand.

"Looks like our roles are reversed now. Be careful going after Ward ok? As you told me another time, he is as dangerous as you and me." Leon said with a worried expression on his face.

"I’ll be okay Leon, he's good, but he don’t stand a chance against the three of us. Moreover, it is good to have at least one expert here at the Playground. Be careful too okay?"

Leon smiled, taking Bobbi’s hand to his lips and kissing it, saying after: “Just kick his ass for me, darlin’"

Bobbi smiled, winking one eye and taking her free hand to Leon's hair, caressing it and then moving away. Leon watched as Bobbi entered the Quinjet and the boarding ramp closed, and then turned to Skye. He was worried, but Bobbi was not alone, and Leon did not doubt her skills for even second. He had to focus on the new case.

"Coulson did not ask for this, did he?" Leon asked as they both walked into the corridors.

"No, he doesn’t even know yet, but May has some personal reasons for going after Ward and I thought you could help me. I know you’d rather be there on the field with Bobbi, but..."

Leon smiled, raising one hand while saying, "No Skye, you did well. Bobbi, May and Tripp can take care of Ward, they are good. I want to help Phil as much as you do. Thanks for bringing me in."  
Leon smiled, raising one fist to Skye, who immediately fistbumped with a smile. It had become a common greeting between the two. Skye showed Leon the information she had on the murder and after Leon absorbed the information, they went to the director's office.

When both entered Coulson’s office, the director looked at Leon with a puzzled expression:

"The Quinjet has already left...what are you doing here, Leon?"

Skye was the one who answered, "I asked for his help, DC. Now, I got a little information from one my sources. This guy, Michael, he’s like a fan of crime scenes, you know? He found something. The writing, but not exactly how we wanted to see it."

Skye then showed Coulson the tablet, with a picture of a woman, about thirty years old, dead and carved on her forehead was some of the symbols that Coulson was drawing on the wall. The following photos showed that the symbols had also been carved on the back of the victim.

"When those pictures were taken?" Asked one surprised Coulson.

"Last night. And who did this is still out there. So I asked Leon to stay, and help me with the investigation." Said Skye.

Coulson nodded, still with his eyes on the tablet, this time showing the picture of the victim's driver's license.

"Janice Robbins. Lived in upstate New York." Leon informed.

"She was a S.H.I.E.L.D agent?" Asked Coulson, with a curious expression with his eyes analyzing the face of the victim.

"No. She was an art teacher from Iowa. We have her complete file here." Leon answered.

"I'm not wrong. I'm sure I've seen this woman before.We have to check it out" Coulson said, with a serious expression. If there was anyone who knew of the symbols, it could lead to a clue of its meaning. That, and S.H.I.E.L.D could not let a murderer of any kind on the loose.

New York – Dawn

Leon, Skye and Coulson were in the building where Janice Robbins had been murdered. The corridors leading to the victim's apartment were poorly lit and they all looked similar. Coulson stopped in front of a door with an big "X" made in yellow police tape indicating a crime scene. They had come to the right place.

Coulson using a lockpick managed to force the lock, pulling the yellow tape and opening the door into the dark apartment.

"You know that we are breaking at least about 14 laws now, right?" Skye said, somewhat apprehensive, as she passed her flashlight on the small room of the apartment, looking for evidence.

"Skye, don’t forget that not long ago, you hacked into the DSO's database, I bet that gives more jail time than what we're doing here.." said Leon, smiling as he pointed his flashlight to Skye.

"In my defense, you made me do the hack. So, if we’re goin’ to jail, we’re goin’ together." Skye also smiled as she hit a playful punch Leon’s shoulder.

"So Phil, what we're looking for here, exactly? The body has been taken to the police precinct and we can’t do a forensic examination on this conditions." Leon said, pointing his flashlight to a spot of blood on the floor of the living room, probably the place where the woman had been attacked.

"Well, if you think you know her from S.H.I.E.L.D, DC, I don’t think you two had much in common, unless you have some Enya album hidden in your stuff." Skye said, as she pulled some old CD’s from a shelf.

"He has, by the way, and also there seems to be weapons hidden here. Everything in this house seems…pretty normal. Are you sure you’re not mistaken, Phil?" Leon asked, looking in the kitchen drawers for false bottoms and hidden weapons.

"I think you'll want to see this." The pair heard Coulson’s voice coming from a more distant part of the apartment. By following the sound, Leon and Skye entered a room that looked like a painting studio. And the paintings made by Janice Robbins consisted of the same symbols that Coulson carved in the walls.

Playground – Morning

Coulson, Leon and Skye had arranged all the paintings made by Robbins and compared with the symbols made by Coulson and found that they were both working on the same "project", although the victim had painted some symbols that were missing from Coulson and vice versa.

While Coulson looked thoughtfully at the drawings on the floor and in his wall, Skye was seated in an club chair, typing on her laptop while Leon was seated in the arm of the same club chair arm, sliding his fingers through his tablet.

"DC! You were right! She was an S.H.I.E.L.D agent! Rebecca Stevens, access level 6. She worked at the Triskelion base. Probably that’s where you’ve seen her!" Exclaimed Skye, proud of herself after searching over dozens of S.H.I.E.L.D files after information compatible with the victim. Skye then high-fived Leon, whose smile soon turned into a strange expression, when the agent said:

"But...she "died " from cancer five years ago? Does her death was forged to some undercover operation?”

"A suburban teacher operation? We didn’t find anything in her house, Leon, except for the paintings" completed Skye also confused. Both tem turned to Coulson, who started to speak:

"We’ll only find answers after an proper autopsy. It’s the only way for us to get some conclusive data. Leon, do you think you could Mark to pull some strings for us?”

Leon sighed, running a hand through his hair, "You sure you want to be in his debt? Better yet, you sure you want ME to be in his debt?”

Coulson just smiled as he added: "Come on, he'll understand."

"Of course he will understand. We, from S.H.I.E.L.D, are asking for the body of a recently murdered woman that was one of our agents, and was presumed dead. But we don’t know why, and this agent is now REAL dead. Oh, and we can’t tell him why we’re asking for her body! Of course...he'll love it." Leon stood shaking his head as he made a hand motion to Skye to get up:  
“You are coming with me. I need a partner for this."

"Um…okay! Just a little question: who the hell is Mark??" questioned Skye, walking with Leon to the Playground’s garage. Leon sighed again, opening the door of one of the cars and looking at Skye before saying:

"My dad, Mark Kennedy, Captain of the 12th Police Precinct of New York."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next Chapter: Captain Mark Kennedy and Leon X....Coulson?!


	9. The Signal Killer

New York 12th Police Precint

Leon had just parked the car in the police precint's underground parking lot. The trip was silent. Since the mention of his father, the agent had been strangely quiet. Skye had managed to hold her curiosity until that point, but before they left the car she gently held Leon's arm and asked:

"What's goin'on, Leon? You don't seem very comfortable coming here, obviously. But why?"

Leon was almost out of the car, but decided to go back, leaning in the seat and gently turning his body so he could look Skye in the eyes:

"I am not. It's just...well, for one thing he doesn't know I left the Secret Service and joined S.H.I.E.L.D, which makes us kinda outlaws. But that's not important. After Adam's death and the bioterrorist mess in China, I shut myself. I tried to spend a few days at home with my parents and my sister, but after a while I could no longer endure everybody asking me if I was okay, trying to make me talk about what happened and things like that and I behaved like an idiot, I exploded, said some bullshit and went gone for a few weeks. I left a voice message for my sister, saying I was well, and apologizing...but I had to get back to work and used it as an excuse to stay away from home."

"And I think getting in your father's police precint, asking for a body on behalf of a new agency, that he dosn't know you work for should not be the best way to resume contact. I think I understand. I never had parents to be able to have that kind of discussion...but if it makes you feel better I can try to talk to your father, to the captain, alone."

Leon smiled, putting a hand on Skye's shoulder: "Thanks Skye, but I need to do this. I'm glad you're here though. Come on."

Leon and Skye got out of the car and took the elevator leading to the second floor of the District, where was the workstation for the detectives, and the District Captain's office. The two went through a series of tables until Skye stopped in front of one of them, calling to Leon:

"Look! It's Janice's case!"

The pair was about to approach one of the evidence board when one of the detectives turned to them, with a look of impatience on his face: "Can I help you?"

"You can…agents Leon and Skye, Secret Service" Leon showed his old Secret Service badge and to prevent the detective to ask for Skye's he continued: "I'm here to talk to Captain Kennedy. It is an urgent matter."

The man stared at Leon in a strange way, but decided it would not be a good idea to test the patience of a Secret Service agent. "Follow me."

The detective stood in the doorway of an office and asked the agents to wait, knocking once and entering without waiting for an answer. Leon and Skye could hear a voice that came from within the office: "If you aren't here to tell me that you got leads on the Signal Killer, then get off." The voice suddenly lowered the tone until the detective left, gesturing to Leon and Skye to enter as he walked away.

As they entered, Skye could finally lay her eyes on Captain Mark Kennedy. He was a man in his 60's years and his haircut was like Leon's, but shorter and in shades of gray. He was sitting in front of his desk in silence, just studying both of them.

"Captain..." And Skye could see Mark raising an eyebrow while Leon corrected himself: "Father…this is agent Skye, from the…"

"Secret Service. You are recruiting younger people these days." Mark completed, while Leon coughed, with a look of discomfort as he added:

"About that...we don't represent the Secret Service, Dad. I don't. We are agents of S.H.I.E.L.D..."

"You what?!"

Before Mark could continue, Leon intervened: "We are working with Coulson. I could no longer stay in the Secret Service, not after what happened to President Adam. I promise I'll explain it better later, but we're running out of time here."

"Same old, Leon. You're always running out of time. By the way, your sister's graduation was beautiful."

Skye could realize how much Leon's expression saddened, but he closed his eyes for a second, and when he opened again, he was with the same calm expression:

"I know it was, and I know I screwed up. But this is no time for that. I'm trying to do my job. As I've always had. Protect people, do something good, like you taught me. The case of the Signal Killer. We can catch him."

"Why an art teacher interests S.H.I.E.L.D? And don't give me that "confidential" crap."

"But it's confidential, you should know that! It's the rules!" Leon said, impatiently drumming his fingers on the table.

"By the rules I should be calling for the army to come arrest two S.H.I.E.L.D agents suspected of treachery."

Skye decided to intervene, her voice coming out low and shy as she stood next to Leon, across the table: "Sir...Captain. She was one of us. She was an S.H.I.E.L.D agent and I know you didn't find anything this about it on her apartment, and to be honest we don't exactly know what's going on. Janice Robbins isn't even her real name. She was one of us and we just want justice for her and her family. Her real family. I know the things you probably heard about S.H.I.E.L.D, but we are not the bad guys here and I don't know what's happened between you two but…we just want to help. Please, let us help."

Mark was looking deep in Skye's eyes and his expression eased a little, as he slowly shook his head, in a similar way that Leon did a few times.

"I'm sorry for what happened before." Leon did not finish his sentence, but Mark just said:

"I know. But this conversation isn't over. What do you need?"

Leon then added, reluctantly: "Her body. We need to do an autopsy. The signals in the body, they had appeared...in one of our cases."

"Not a chance. We cannot take the body away from here, not without saying to whom and when they know it's for S.H.I.E.L.D that Talbot guy will be here with that ridiculous mustache of his, rampaging in my district. In addition, the autopsy it has already been made. Nothing abnormal was found."

"Maybe our biochemist can see something that was left behind. We're not saying that your medical examiner is not good, but we kinda know what to look for." Skye said, but Mark shook his head:

"The answer is still no. The body will not leave this precint...but if by some chance, your biochemist comes to visit the District...your biochemist who works for the SECRET SERVICE, by the way, can act as a consultant and analyze the body in our morgue."

2 hours later

Leon, Skye and Jemma were using an interrogation room borrowed from the police station. They were speaking with Coulson via laptop, as the Director had asked to be informed immediately of the autopsy results.

"Well, the police's Medical Examiner was right about the cause of death. Despite the deep cuts, the victim died of a heart attack. It was the pain that killed her, not the injury itself. It is something common in this type of ritualistic murder" began Jemma, until she was stopped by Skye:

"Ritualistc?"

"Yeah. The cuts are very accurate, and the killer continued to carve even after she died, as if he NEEDED to complete...whatever he was doing. Also I think it's not the first time he does this, and if I'm not mistaken, these scriptures were similar to those in Garrett's wall?"

Coulson was about to answer when Mark came in with a file folder in hand, approaching the computer and handing the folder to Leon.

"Phil, every time I see you, you got less hair in your head…" Coulson just smiled, while Mark continued, "I think you should see this. Just arrived."

"Is this tissue analysis? She had DNA under her fingernails. Well, makes sense, if she tried to defend herself." Leon said, reading the report.

"Wait...she had GH-325 in her blood! She was a patient in the Taiti project...and I shouldn't had said it front of the captain…oh god, I'm sorry Director." Jemma ran a hand through her hair, with an guilt expression on her face.

"I probably don't want to know what this Taiti project means, right?" Asked Mark, with his eyes studying the agents in the room.

"No Mark, and we could not tell you anyway." Coulson said.

"At this point, I just want to catch this bastard. It's enough for me." Mark said as he left the interrogation room, giving the agents of S.H.I.E.L.D some privacy.

"Director...who killed her also had the GH-325 in his blood. The hypergraphia was one of the side effects they tried to treat with the memory replacement during the project. Garrett suffered from it, our mysterious killer too, and both turned into dangerous psychopaths. Are you both experiencing desire to write or carve something?" Jemma asked, in a tone that mingled concern and scientific curiosity.

"Hey…this means that our killer is...or was an S.H.I.E.L.D agent. This is bad." Leon said, trying to change the subject in order to protect the Coulson's secret, at least for now. The agent knew that this subject probably would not stay in the dark for much longer.

"We need to find him. We don't know how he's managing to find other people with the GH-325, but it may not be a good idea for me and Skye to stay together in the same place. We can't make things easy for him. Leon and Skye, you will be safe in the police precint. You guys keep trying to find any leads. Leon, try searching for other similar murders with this M.O, since Simmons said this may not be the killer's first time. Skye, I need you to go deeper into the S.H.I.E.L.D files, try to find a pattern between our victim, the killer and the Taiti project. Jemma, I need you to come back, there's something I want you to do for me."

To Leon, stay in the police precint with Skye was kinda pointless. The searches they're doing there, they could do in the playground, and having Skye and Coulson away from each other also felt pointless. They would be as safe in the playground as they would be in the precint, but Leon decided to obey the orders without complaint. The killer was actually tracking his victims in some way, and Skye could actually be in danger, then for now, Leon decided to keep an eye on her, since Coulson could take care of himself more easily.

It had been about an hour since the Coulson's last contact. Leon and Skye were working in the same interrogation room, but had not achieved any substantial leads until the point that Skye's phone rang:

"What's up Jem? What? Calm down Jemma! I'll put on speaker."

Leon and Skye had no trouble realizing how Simmons's voice was nervous and shaken:

"The director...he asked me to enter in the Memory Machine. The machine HYDRA used to retrieve his memories from the Tahiti project last year!"

"And you let him?!" Asked Skye, in an even more worried tone.

"He gave me a direct order! He said it was the only way to know who is killing these people. And he found out! His name is Sebastian Derik. He was tested along with other 5 patients in the early stages of the Tahiti project. These initial 6 patients began to show disturbances and paranoia concerning the mysterious writing, and S.H.I.E.L.D decided to erase his memories, as they did with agent Stevens and all the others. But Coulson discovered that Derik had killed all the other patients, except one, Hank Thompson."

"Send his address for us, Derik is probably after him as we speak, Jemma. How's Coulson?" Asked Leon, already getting up and motioning for Skye to follow him.

"That's the problem…we called May after all this and she asked us to put Coulson in a containment cell until she comes back, because during the time in the Memory Machine, he became quite violent. We needed Mack to hold him down. But he appeared normal when it was over...and then...I went to take him to containment cell and he pushed me inside, saying he would personally take care of Thompson! He managed to leave the base, and we could not locate him, and May's still far away and…" Jemma's voice grew more desperate with every word, beyond the guilt she was feeling about Coulson's escape.

"Jem, calm down! Leon...without Coulson and May, I think you're in charge now. What we do now? "Asked Skye, biting her lower lip with a tense expression.

"OK. According to the address, Thompson is relatively close to us. Send Mack and a team to his address. We're going too, and we will probably get there first, but some backup won't do us any harm. We will try to get there before Coulson. I also want a team looking for Derik, he must be behind Thompson too. And Jemma...this was not your fault. We'll bring the Director back, I promise."

After giving the orders, Leon hung up the phone and he and Skye came out in quick steps towards the elevator in the police precint. Leon threw the car's keys to Skye and told her to start the car as he walked towards the Captain's room.

"We got the killer's name but you'll have to trust me when I say that we have to handle this ourselves." Said Leon, stopping in front of his father's desk.

"It has something to do with this Tahiti project, isn't?" Mark asked with a sigh.

"It does. It is very complicated and we need to run, but I promise that I'll come back to visit you shortly. I want you guys to know a special person." Leon smiled quickly, but soon the serious expression has returned to his face.

"A person huh? Your mother will be happy to hear this. Okay kid, go save the world. And let me know when this killer is in custody." Mark said, giving a small smile, just as his son did.

"Yes Captain!" Leon smiled, turning around and practically ran to the parking lot, where Skye was already with the car running and the door opened.

New York – Hank Thompson's home

Coulson waited patiently until Hank Thompson opened the front door and then presented himself before pointing his gun at the man, showing the pictures of the signs on his wall and Walter's body.

"I don't want to hurt you, but you need to hear me. You were a S.H.I.E.L.D agent! Do you recognize these symbols?" Coulson tried to appear calm, but the agony in his voice was betraying him.

"No, I don't recognize any of this! Now please, go away!" Hank said, also failing in trying to appear calm.

"Think! Have you ever carved, sculpted or painted any these things, or something similar?" Coulson looked increasingly impatient and anxious with every word.

"No, I said no!"

"I need to know what they mean, don't you understand?! You have the pieces that I need! I need complete!" At this point, Coulson was already screaming.

"I don't know what you mean, and I don't care! I told you both, you got the wrong man!" Said Mark, with a mixture of anger and confusion.

"Both? Someone came before me?" Coulson's eyes widened and soon after he heard footsteps behind him, but before he could defend himself, an iron bar hit his head.

20 Minutes Later

According to the coordinates, Leon and Skye were very close to Mark Thompson's address, driving way above the speed limit when they saw a man in the road, waving his arms desperately. Leon braked sharply and the man ran to the door, talking quickly and nervously:

"Call the police! Two men are gonna kill themselves! They're in my place, Thompson Welding, right there!"

"Stay here, we'll take care of it!" Said Leon, accelerating the car again as he listened to Skye:

"That was Mark Thompson! DC must be fighting Derik! We have to help him!"

Leon and Skye arrived at the address in less than a minute, when they managed to hear a loud noise coming from the shed. When they arrived they found an injured Coulson, with cuts on his arms and chest, hanging Sebastian Derik with a wire while speaking to him, pointing Derik's head towards a giant diorama train:

"The answer is here Derik! Just look!"

"Phil, let him go!" Leon said as he walked toward the Director. He didn't draw his weapon, because he couldn't shoot his boss, and Coulson probably knew it.

"It's okay Leon! I'm fine! This is the answer!" Coulson said, while holding the wire in Derik's neck. At the same time, Mack had entered the shed, standing next to Skye and pointing his gun to Coulson, but having his aim obscured by Leon, who approached the Director.

"That's what you said before throwing Jemma in a cell! Director, drop the wire!" Shouted Mack.

"But I don't want to kill him! I want to save him!" yelled Coulson, tightening the grip even harder. "The pain makes Derik remember, Leon! The pain makes him remember the signs! It's all here, the answer we seek!"

"I'll count to three and then shoot, Director!" Mack said, at the same time as Leon placed a hand on Coulson's shoulder, who responded by pushing his body back and kicking Leon, not to hurt him, but to push the agent away as he continued to choke Derik.

"One…" Said Mack.

"Phil, I will not be gentle next time, and you know it. You trained me! Release him NOW!" Leon's voice was a mixture of coldness and irritation, but by instinct, he still kept his body in front of Mack, disrupting his aim.

"Two…" Mack continued to count, trying to get a better angle while Skye spoke:

"DC! He's not bluffing! He'll shoot you! Let him go!"

"Open your eyes Derik! It is below the surface, like you told me! You just need to look!" Continued Coulson.

"That's enough…" Leon approached again, this time kicking one of Coulson's legs and seizing the moment to move one of his arms between Coulson's grip on Derik, making the Director loose the wire, while Derik crouched down, looking at the diorama as if he had seen a revelation.

"You can put down your guns, and you can release me, Leon. No one here will hurt anyone." Coulson said, in a calm voice.

Leon kicked away the wire with his foot and slowly set Coulson free, while Skye asked:

"And how can you be sure of that?"

"He found what he was looking for. We found...the final piece."

It was then that Leon stopped to take a look the diorama, with Skye standing beside him. Mack kept his eyes fixed on Coulson and Derik.

"You got to be kiddin' me…" Said Leon, noticing that from the position they were in the top of the shed, they could see the diorama down and its forms were just like those of Coulson's wall, but totally complete. Without even knowing, Mark Thompson had completed the picture.

"It's not a map." Coulson said as he watched the little train running through diorama: "It's a city!"

Playground. Director Coulson's office

Coulson, Skye, Leon and May - who had returned from the search for Ward (unsuccessfully.) - Were together in the Director's office. Derik had been delivered to the 12th Police Precint of New York and Thompson was safe, along with his family. Coulson offered him a chance to recover his memories and join S.H.I.E.L.D again, but Cameron Klein (his real name) was happy being Hank Thompson and Coulson respected his decision.

"Derik was handed to the authorities. But I don't think he will be dangerous again. His compulsion came from attempting to complete the symbols. He found his peace." Coulson said, calmly.

"And you?" Countered May, with her arms folded over her chest and a serious expression.

"I'm sorry for everything I did, especially you two, Skye and Leon. But the compulsion is gone. After I saw the complete picture...the compulsion was gone."

"How can you be sure?" Continued May, still not feeling completely safe.

"I can feel. Or better, I don't feel. Whatever was in our blood, was leading us to this, to this city. But we didn't understand what it was, and that made us a little bit crazy. Now we just need to find out why."

Coulson then called Fitz, Simmons, Mack, Bobbi and Tripp to join Leon, Skye and May within the office, getting in front of them all as he said:

"To answer what you may be wondering: No, I'm not crazy. I know that in recent months it may have seemed that I was taking you to a pointless hunt, in search of artifacts and strange symbols. And we're finally solving this puzzle. The bad news is: HYDRA is also trying to decipher it, and they have more resources. The good news is: We now have a part that they don't" As he said the last sentence, Coulson pressed a button on his desk and a holographic projection began to show the symbols. Coulson then turned the picture and projected in 3D way, like the diorama at Thompson's house, showing what looked like a city.

"Our job is to find that city before HYDRA. Now more than ever, I count on each of you. When I selected you guys to this team, I always saw potential in everyone. The rookie cop who survived hell in his first day, the brilliant hacker who lived in a van, the geniuses of S.H.I.E.L.D's scientific academy or the future promises of the field academy. All of you are here now, and are simply the best at what you do. And now is the time to prove it. We'll find this town and finish HYDRA once and for all!"


	10. Blast From The Past

Playground

After the discovery of the true meaning of the alien symbols, the attention of Coulson's team was focused in identifying the mysterious city, although there were agents responsible for monitoring HYDRA's activities and search for Grant Ward's whereabouts.

The morning was quiet with Leon, Skye and Tripp working in the communications room for clues about the city. Although they were focused on the job, the three chatted in a relaxed and casual way, until they were interrupted by Skye's phone ringing. The agent realized that the call was from an unknown number and answered with a simple "Hello?", And shortly thereafter, her companions in the room could see how much Skye's expression became tense, as she put the phone on speaker and her fingers ran fast by her computer's keys as she spoke:

"Ward. What you want?"

Leon and Tripp rose, standing next to Skye, who was trying to trace the call.

"You don't have to be so cold with your old SO, Skye. Well, I'm just calling to say that I'm leaving a gift, in my location. By the way, I know you must be tracing this call right now. Great, do it."

"I'll tell Coulson." Tripp said, leaving the room with quick steps

"That was the Tripp? Shame he left so fast, I had missed him! I also believe that agent Kennedy is there with you, right? You can learn a few things from him, Skye. He's surprisingly good. Speaking of which, Kennedy, remember I said that I would leave some gifts to Coulson? Then consider this the first of many."

"He's a much better partner than you Ward, this I can be sure. And we don't need you to leave gifts to us, like a cat bringing dead birds. We just need you behind bars." Said Skye, with contempt in her voice.

"I think it might have been enough time to you to track me, right? Well, dear agents, I need to go now. I have personal matters to attend to. See you soon." After that the connection was cut, leaving the two agents in silence.

Coulson designed Leon and Bobbi to check the address of where Ward had called, and inside a dark and abandoned warehouse they found Sunil Bakshi, which Bobbi recognized as Whitehall's right hand man. In fact, whether they like it or not it, Ward had really left a great gift for the S.H.I.E.L.D agents.

Some Hours Later, in The Playground

When they returned, Coulson charged Bobbi to take care of Bakshi's interrogation, since the agent was excellent in setting up psychological profiles (she also had a doctorate in biology and was still extremely skillful in combat. S.H.I.E.L.D knows how to recruit the best, after all. ) and then headed to Hawaii with Skye, Tripp and Fitz for a mission related to the search for the mysterious city.

Leon and Mack watched the monitors as Bobbi questioned Bakshi, who was saying:

"We grew stronger each day, while the S.H.I.E.L.D desperately clings to a world they don't understand and doesn't fit anymore."

"Yeah, yeah... I've read the HYDRA pamphlet. Why don't you tell me something I don't know yet?" Bobbi said, as she stood from her chair.

Mack approached Leon, looking to with concern as he asked:

"I know you met the director a long time ago. But what do you think it happened to him last week? He was violent. Out of his mind. Have you talked to him about it?"

Leon took his eyes from the screen, turning towards Mack as he crossed his arms and said:

"He's fine Mack. Don't worry. I know it was bizarre, but we got the information we needed, and we took the killer out of the streets. That's what matters."

It seemed that Mack was about to retort when Jemma entered the room, also watching the interrogation by the cameras.

"Hey Jemma" Leon smiled, taking advantage of the distraction. The truth is that Coulson's behavior was really violent and unpredictable. But he believed in the director's word when he said he was ok. He has every reason to trust Phil Coulson. Always had, and would not change now.

"Mr. Bakshi almost killed me a few times..." Jemma said, in a disgusted tone as she pulled a chair and sat next to Leon.

"I'm surprised with her being so…civil." Continued Jemma

"Wanted to see him taking a beating?" Mack asked with raised eyebrows.

"Would not it be so wrong, would it? But I could not be there in front of him so calm." Answered Jemma.

"It's one of several interrogation techniques. She's trying to get inside his head. Get him to talk." Leon said, turning to the monitors.

"But a man as important as Bakshi will not talk out some important information like this ... at least I do not think so." Jemma said, with a unsure voice.

"Bobbi doesn't want him to talk something important. I mean, she wants to induce him to say something. Something he can miss out and we can use. The secret is in the details...of course, if all else fails I can beat him a little and see what happens. It's not like he didn't deserve." Said Leon, as the trio went back to watching the interrogation.

"Seriously. You could be a James Bond villain. Why follow Whitehall? Why not lead?" Said Bobbi, scanning Bakshi with her eyes as she walked back to sit facing the man, who replied:

"My time…will arrive. Just like Whitehall, I care about the bigger picture."

"Hmm...and I worry about the fact that maybe you've been brainwashed. I've seen the HYDRA using it in its laboratories. How can you be sure that not happened to you?" Asked Bobbi, tapping her finger on her chin.

"I'm not one of those fanatics HYDRA controls! is a disciple of the great Red Skull! The founder of HYDRA, shares his vision! I'm part of history!"

 

Bobbi then shook her head and stood up, leaving the room and crossing the hall towards the room where were her companions were watching.

"Think Bakshi was really brainwashed?" Asked Mack, giving the agent a bottle of water.

"No. But let him think that. Actually he said something..that did not seems quite right. He called Whitehall "a disciple of the Red Skull". The impression he gave was as if Whitehall was a contemporary of the Skull. That does not make much sense. But definitely exists link between them..." Bobbi said, after taking a sip of her water, while May also entered through the room.

"Well...the Red Skull died at about the time that the Obelisk was recovered by the SSR, the agency that became S.H.I.E.L.D. Here was one of the SSR old bases, before Fury restored it. It should be full of files!" Jemma said in an excited voice.

"So we look for it. It's like Coulson says: know your enemy. Mack, Simmons, you come with me. Bobbi can continue with the questioning. If you think you need a little more force, the Leon can step up." After this May proceeded with Mack and Jemma to the file room.

The interrogation continued for a few more hours with Bobbi giving spaces between sessions to think and to try to leave Bakshi insecure. Leon had gone to inform Coulson of the things they had discovered, and when he returned, he saw Bobbi alone in the room where they were before, turning her fighting staves with a thoughtful expression.  
Leon closed the door and approached the agent, putting his hands on her waist and bringing her close to him as he spoke:

"Trying to understand Bakshi? If you want, I can go in there and play the bad cop for a bit."

Bobbi laughed, giving a quick kiss on Leon's lips as she answered:

"Actually this interrogation has allowed me to make his psychological profile. He grew up on the streets...probably Southall, London. Works hard to hide his accent, but still struggles with the letter "t", absent parents, started with petty crimes until the military straightened him, which must have gone fairly well, until the military realized something off and kicked him out…"

"And that's how he should had ended up in the private security industry, right?" Leon asked.

"Uh-huh. Somehow, Whitehall gave Bakshi a second chance. His borderline personality disorder causes him to values his relationships, thank the parents for that. In the end, it was not difficult for Whitehall to get his loyalty. The puzzle here is Whitehall. He has something in him that Bakshi sees, and we don't" Said Bobbi, making a slight grimace.

"OK. You're really good. I don't know how you can surprise me anymore..." Leon laughed, stealing a kiss from Bobbi, who also smiled as she answered:

"Hmm..but I still think I can surprise you enough. I could..."And she brought her lips close to Leon's ear, saying something while sensually smiling and then walking away, slightly biting her lower lip.

"Okay, how do you expect me to focus for the rest of my day after you tell me that? This is very cruel, angent Morse..." Leon said smiling as the two agents kissed again and then pulled apart, with Bobbi returning to read Bakshi's file and Leon watching him around the screen, trying to notice signs in his behavior.

It was then that Jemma, May and Mack returned to the room with animated expressions (With May's exception, of course.) that said they had discovered something important.

"Tell me this happy face is because you guys found something that Bobbi can use against him...or that you are giving me permission to go in there and give the son of a bitch some scares. I'm happy with any of the alternatives." Leon said, while Jemma approached him with a file folder in her hands.

"We, my dear American friend. - Almost all of us here are Americans, Jemma (amended Leon) - discovered Whitehall's identity! His name is Werner Reinhardt. He was one of the Red Skull's commanders, in the World War II."

Leon opened the file and it had a picture of Whitehall, with the same look of his actual file. The name on the photo was Werner Reinhardt and it was dated from 1945. Leon handed the file to Bobbi, who then asked, with frowned eyebrows:

"Wait. I saw Whitehall in the eyes, and he had the same look as in this picture. It is impossible that he has not aged! Care to explain?"

"Actually, yes he has aged. Reinhardt was captured by the Allies in 1945, and remained in S.H.I.E.L.D custody until 1989, when he received medical freedom, since he was dying." Jemma said while May showed Leon and Bobbi a photo of Whitehall in the 80's, with an aged appearance that would be consistent with his picture of the 40's, but not with the face he had now.

"He's...Asgardian? Alien? Found Aladdin's magic Lamp? Discovered the fountain of youth? " Asked Leon as he crossed his arms.

"That we don't know. Reinhardt's records disappeared after 1989. He changed his name, hid his German accent and was good to go." Mack said, also with a curious expression.

"The first records of Daniel Whitehall emerged in the 90's, according to the files. This fits into the timeline, except for the part he rejuvenates 40 years." Completed May. Leon stood up, handing the file to Bobbi, with a slight smile as he said:

"What he did, we can find out later. But these files have the key to break Bakshi. It's up to you, Bobbi."

Minutes later, Bobbi had returned to the interrogation room and was face to face with Bakshi again, while Leon and the others watched by cameras.

"Tell me...your devotion to Whitehall is based on fear or respect?" Bobbi asked, with a cooler voice than previously, flipping through a file, but making sure Bakshi could not see what it was.

"My devotion goes far beyond it." Bakshi said, also calmly.

"Fear goes beyond respect, in case you forgot. Better to be feared than loved, as Machiavelli said." Bobbi added with a small smile, turning to look at the files again.

"That's not what I meant..." Bakshi continued, but was interrupted by Bobbi:

"What are you so afraid that Whitehall's gonna do to you?"

Bakshi swallowed, before joining his hands on the table and looked deep into Bobbi's eyes, saying with a smile:

"I wonder...if your friends know what you are capable of. If they imagine the things you had to do to climb HYDRA's ranks? Afraid of their judgment about the things you did?"

"Fear of judgment. You couldn't be more precise. You're not afraid of Whitehall. You are afraid of disappointing him." Bobbi answred, smiling and using a calm voice as if she had ignored what Bakshi said before, and then continued: "And you know he will be disappointed when they find out you gave him out."

"I did not gave anyone." Bakshi said, crossing his arms with a look of triumph in his face.

"Au contraire...you gave us everything, Bakshi. His name, his adventures with Red Skull in World War II, his age. You knew he was hypertensive? We did." Bobbi smiled triumphantly as she threw the folder on the table, just opening on the page showing Reinhardt's photo.

Bobbi then stood up, walking near Bakshi's chair, as he leaned back on the table and continued to speak:

"He gave you a second chance in the past, but do you really think he'll give you a third, after learning that you told us exactly how to kill him? You failed with your boss, Bakshi. We already know who Whitehall is. The question that remains is...what kind of man are you?" Said Bobbi as she leaned, smiling confidently, while Bakshi kept a tense expression, with sweat running down his forehead until he looked at Bobbi, giving a weak smile and simply saying:

"A loyal one."

And Bakshi seemed clenched his teeth and seconds later fell to the ground trembling and took Bobbi a few seconds to realize that he probably bit some hidden poison capsule. Classic spy trick. By the time Leon and Jemma entered the room, Bakshi was already foaming, while Bobbi was down by his side, still bewildered.

"Cyanide! He took the James Bond thing too seriously! How we missed this? We checked his teeth!" Leon said, paving the way for Jemma and a group of agents coming to provide medical care.

"Capsule built on the cheek. You bastard, you will not get out of that easy!" Said Bobbi, with an angry tone as Jemma and other agents began to remove Bakshi from his cell.

A few hours passed and Bakshi was stabilized. Jemma told Leon and Bobbi he would survive, but was not sure how long it would take to him to wake up. The two agents were standing in front of the infirmary, watching Bakshi by the glass. Leon broke the silence by asking:

"Are you okay?"

"I'm fine...I just miscalculated. I was sure he was going to give away. I screwed this." Said Bobbi, slightly shaking her head and moving away from the infirmary, walking the corridors toward the bedrooms, with Leon at her side.

"It was not your fault. I don't know if there was any way he would gave Whitehall away. Anyway...I'm sorry." Leon said, holding Bobbi's hand, while she leaned against the agent's bedroom door.

"For what?" Bobbi asked, affectionately squeezing Leon's hand as she looked upon his eyes.

"For the things that you had to do while infiltrated in HYDRA. I imagine it wasn't nice, but sometimes we need to make sacrifices for the greater good. I know how it is. Not exactly that way, but I know..." Leon approached as he spoke, putting his free hand on Bobbi's face, caressing her cheek. "It's never easy. But that's why you're so good. You do what must be done, sometimes it works, sometimes not, but no one would have done better than you today in the interrogation."

Bobbi then began a kiss that soon turned into a second, a third and soon the two agents entered the room while clothes were thrown all over the place.

When they finished, the two agents were still holding each other in bed with Bobbi resting her head on Leon's chest, who stroked her hair. The agent smiled as she said:

"You know, I wish you had accepted the Coulson's job offer sooner. So we would have known each other way before..."

Leon smiled, kissing Bobbi's head while he answered: "Me too, to be honest. But what is past, is past. I believe that we still have plenty of time..."

Although Bobbi has agreed with a nod, her heart sank at the same time. Bobbi knew that she was falling in love with the agent, and what hurt most was knowing that when Leon finally finds the reason Bobbi accepted Coulson's invitation to join his team, he probably would hate her forever.


	11. Do You Trust Me, Skye?

Playground – Director's office

Coulson's team had returned from Hawaii with good news. The director had said they had find out the exact location of the mysterious city, which was pointed out by the alien symbols. Coulson said he would inform everything in a large briefing but before that, he wanted to know what happened in his absence, and for that reason, Leon, May and Bobbi reported to Coulson of what happened to Bakshi and the discovery of Whitehall's real identity.

Before they left, Coulson asked Leon to find Skye, who he had not been seen since they returned from Hawaii. Leon searched the base for a few minutes until he found Tripp and Jemma, who told him that Skye was sleeping on the Bus (which was not unusual). When he entered the big plane, Leon saw Skye asleep at a table. As he moved closer to wake her, Leon noticed that the young woman seemed to be having a nightmare, which was noticeable by her uneasy face:

"No…please, don't leave me…please…"

"Skye." Leon gently touched the hacker's shoulder, but that didn't work out, then he raised his voice a little more, still with his hand on Skye's shoulder, who woke startled and with her eyes full of tears.

"Nightmares, huh? I know how it is." Said Leon, sitting next to Skye. In fact the agent has had his share of nightmares after the Raccoon City incident and after president Bendford's death.

"it just seemed so real." Skye shook her head, rubbing her eyes with her still trembling hands

"If you want to talk about…" Continued Leon, resting his face in one of his hands. "It helps to exorcise the nightmare."

"I dreamed I was alone…that everyone had abandoned me. And then I turned to stone after touching that damn obelisk." Leon had noticed that Skye's voice trembled more when she mentioned being alone, which was more fearsome for her than the obelisk.

"Come on…" Leon smiled, gently pulling Skye in a hug, placing her head on his shoulder and smoothing her hair: "I always did this with my younger sister when she woke up with nightmares, when she was a kid."

Skye smiled, closing her eyes for a few seconds as she spoke: "You're good at this. Your sister is a lucky girl." With her eyes still closed, Skye assured herself that she was not alone. That S.H.I.E.L.D was her family. And in that context, Skye could easily see Leon as a big brother.

"Come on, Coulson is waiting for us." Said Leon, smiling, as the two stood up and left the bus towards the meeting room.

When the two agents entered the room, Coulson smiled and started the briefing: "Let's start with the bad news: HYDRA has the obelisk, and a person who knows how to use it. And we can't let them use it. We know the obelisk is a powerful weapon, but I am not referring only to the fact that it can turn people into stone. Our Intel confirms that it is a weapon of mass destruction."

"We're talking about a biological weapon? Chemical? Energy based?" Asked Mack, with his arms folded on his chest.

Was Fitz that replied: "Who knows? It can be any one of those. It's alien."

"When Simmons and I were infiltrated in HDYRA, Whitehall was planning an event that would kill thousands of people. It wouldn't be wrong to assume that the obelisk has everything to do with it." Bobbi completed.

"Luck us, it will not be that easy. We learned that the obelisk must be "activated" in a specific place." continued Coulson as his sentence was completed by Leon:

"And let me guess...this activation place is within our mysterious city?"

"We know this exact location?" Jemma asked, with a somewhat distressed voice.

"Good question! No. But it's inside the mysterious city. And what is better, HYDRA doesn't have a clue of where it is. Fitz?" said the director, pointing to the engineer, who pressed a button, that cause the appearance of a holographic 3D projection in the middle of the room. Skye then took the initiative and began to turn the projection as she spoke:

"In our previous mission, we managed to hack into a powerful military satellite, then we made a multispectral scanning of the earth, looking for geographic formations deep in the ocean that correspond to our mysterious city's model. And we found it!" Said Skye, smiling as she pointed to a spot on the globe.

"It's not in the Bermuda Triangle, right? It makes sense if it is." Said Tripp.

"Nah, we solved that in the 80's" Coulson said, shrugging.

"What? Skye, we can include the Bermuda Triangle in our list of mysteries to check when we had time for vacation, right?" Said Leon, smiling at Skye, who winked one eye and said: "Noted!"

"The city's location is close to Puerto Rico, but most of the entries are already submerged, except for one, in San Juan, in the city's underground levels. An inspection team will check the integrity of the tunnels and try to found a way in." Coulson completed.

"And then, sir?" Asked a unsure Jemma.

Coulson's response was quick and confident: "We blow everything up."

A few hours later, Coulson had divided his members into two teams. May, Skye and Leon would go to Canada, to rescue a woman named Raina, who had worked for HYDRA for a long time, but was now being stalked by her former employers and had valuable knowledge of the obelisk. The second team, which consisted of Coulson himself, Bobbi, Mack, Tripp and Fitz-Simmons would depart to Puerto Rico. Coulson's team would use a Quinjet, while May's would use the Bus to go to Canada.

Leon and Skye followed Coulson to the Quinjet's boarding ramp when the director stopped and turned to the two agents as he spoke: "Okay. I'll see you both in San Juan" Leon and Skye nodded positively, but Coulson remained still, smiling at them, for a few seconds, until Leon broke the silence: "It's everything cool, Phil?"

"It is. I'm just remembering the day I recruited you both, with more than 10 years apart. You two had grown so much, and I'm proud to see how good you both are in this job. And more than this, I'm glad to see that you're practically partners now. Take care of each other's backs. I'll see you soon." Said Coulson as Leon and Skye bumped their fists together, as they routinely do and watched as the director boarded the Quinjet. In the background, Leon could see Bobbi smiling at him, who replied with a broad smile of his own, as his lips moved, and though there was no sound, Bobbi could easily read the message: "See you soon, gorgeous."

Some hours later – Canada

May's team was already on site where Raina and the twin agents Sam and Billy were hiding. May would take care of the enemies outside the building while Leon and Skye would extract Raina from the building. The pair climbed the stairs at a quick pace, both agents dressed in field mission gear and tactical vests. Both could hear May's voice on the radio saying "Two down. Are you guys in place?"

"Yeah." Said Leon while Skye knocked on the door and a voice asked them to use their badges at a nearby scanner, and seconds later one of the twins opened the door (Nor Leon or Skye could distinguish both.)

"C'mon Sam, why don't look at the peephole?" Asked Skye while entering. Leon stood outside, watching the hall.

"I'm Billy, Sam is the short one." Said the agent.

"We have to go. Soon HYDRA goons will be here." Said Leon, as he laid eyes on Raina for the first time. Definitely not a person that would inspire any trust. She had the eyes of a sly fox.

Once the group began their walk to the elevator, a woman appeared on the corner of the hall. She had May's face (with a large scar on one side) and a gun. Leon recognized her as agent 33, an ex-S.H.I.E.L.D agent who had been kidnapped by HYDRA and subjected to brainwashing, turning her into an obedient asset. HYDRA made her use a synthetic mask with May's appearance in order to deceive Coulson's team. An later accident sealed the mask on agent 33 permanently.

Skye reacted quickly, holding 33's hands as she tried to disarm her. Leon was about to help her, but noticed two HYDRA agents coming up, towards him, the first one trying a low kick and the second a side kick, trying to hit the agent at the same time. Leon somersaulted back, avoiding the two kicks. Whoever these HYDRA guys were, they were good. Skye was going to have to hold herself against 33 for some time.

Skye was still trying to disarm her opponent, trying to keep the gun away from her, Billy and Raina. The gun went off twice, but no one was hit, while the two were fighting to take control of the situation.

"Go down the stairs!" Said Skye and from the corner of her eye, she could see Leon holding one of his opponent's arm, twisting and using him as a shield against the second opponent's punch. Skye finally managed to make 33 let go her weapon, and with a quick hand movement, Skye shoved her opponent's face against the wall, and immediately received an elbow to the nose in response. 33 was good, but Skye had learned a lot from May and Leon. Both attacked and defended the blows of each other. Punches and kicks were blocked with dexterity proved that Skye was fighting like a veteran agent.

Leon, in turn, was holding himself pretty well in the fight against his two opponents, who despite being skilled fighters, were inclined to try fancy moves, with somersaults and flying kicks. Leon took advantage on one of said kicks to hold the man's leg, turning it and making him hit the wall, taking advantage of the surprise impact to hit him with two punches to the face and a powerful kick in the guts, knocking him at the same time that Leon was hit in the ribs by the other man, having to quickly defend a second kick that went centimeters from his face.

Leon then heard a bang and saw Skye and 33 flying through the apartment door from which they came, but soon had to turn his attention to his opponent, who at the time was jumping on the floor, trying to confuse the agent.

"I think it's time to finish you off, Bruce Lee." Said Leon, this time taking the lead of the attack with a roundhouse kick, ducked by his opponent who tried to take advantage of his position to sweep Leon with a low kick, but the man didn't expect Leon to jump, hitting him with a powerful air kick, not unlike his enemies were trying to moments ago. The kick hit the man in the face, with full impact, causing him to spin on the floor and fall unconscious. Now it was time to help Skye.

Inside the apartment, the struggle between 33 and Skye was still tied up, with both defending some of the other attacks, trying to seek the opponent's immobilization. Taking advantage of an elusive move, Skye took 33's arm, hitting her opponent's chin with an open hand, as she seen May make several times, and then kicking 33's ankle, making her drop to her knees, a characteristic Leon kick.

"Surrender 33! We can help you!" Said Skye, holding 33's arm, trying to get the former S.H.I.E.L.D agent to give up.

Skye's only response was a violent punch in the stomach that made her retreat. She had to admit, 33's stamina was incredible, maybe part of the brainwashing process. Skye was still holding 33's arm and the HYDRA agent took advantage of it, running towards the wall with Skye and using the momentum to take two steps up, actually going up the wall and turning in a somersault, falling behind Skye and using the movement's force to twist the agent's arm, throwing her violently to the ground.

Skye was still trying to get up, when 33 applied a kick on her face, leaving the agent stunned. When Skye finally looked up, 33 had the gun pointed at her face, with a triumphant smile.

"I don't need your help." Said 33 as Skye closed her eyes, preparing for the bullet's impact. With eyes closed, the agent couldn't see when Leon entered the room and kicked the 33's hand, causing the gun to jump away and taking advantage of the surprise to hit an elbow to the woman's face.

"Go Skye, escort Billy and the target to the extraction point, I'll meet you there!" Said Leon, moving into combat position, at the same time 33 rose.

Skye thought to stay and help her partner, but she knew that Leon could take care of 33 and didn't like the idea of Billy and Raina are alone down there, so she nodded and ran out the door. 33 tried to go towards Skye but had to dodge one of Leon's kicks.

"Sorry sweetheart, your fight is with me now." Said the agent, already starting to attack again, with a high and low kick with the same leg, hitting 33's ankle and face, making her stagger. Skye had done a good job, 33 was more tired and bruised than Leon, and had much more difficulty blocking the agent's attacks. Leon heard May's voice on the communicator:

"Skye, Billy and the target are safe, where are you?"

When Leon was about to knock out 33 and answer May, he heard several footsteps coming from the hallway. An HYDRA assault squad, and probably well armed.

"I need you to come with the van as close to the building as possible...I'll need to improvise a way out of here." Said Leon, taking a smoke grenade from his belt and throwing on the ground, obscuring the visibility of everyone in the room, and preventing them from shooting.

"We'll finish this fight another time, sweetheart." Said Leon, after he saw the black van stopping under the building's window. The agent put his arms over his face and jumped out the window, feeling the impact of the glass shards.

According to his calculations, Leon's jump from the third floor window would put him on the van's roof, and he got it right. Unfortunately, once he crashed into the vehicle's roof, Leon felt the impact on his shoulders and rib, which hindered his landing and made him slid to the ground. Once he got up to his feet, the van's doors opened and Skye and Billy pulled him inside while May started the car, leaving behind a visibly irritated agent 33, who was looking out the window.

While driving, May checked Skye and Leon through the mirror. Skye had dried blood on her nose and mouth, while Leon was tending his ribs with a F-Aid Spray. "Good job, you two." Said May, while Leon and Skye smiled, bumping fists.

"Now…why Whitehall want to capture you? Last time I checked, he wanted your head on a plate." Said Leon, while Skye was cleaning the side of her mouth and nose with a tissue given by Sam. Raina was silent, so it was May who spoke:

"He must think she has any information about the obelisk, probably. Maybe how that stuff works."

"Are you telling me that Whitehall has the Diviner? So they don't want to kill me...they need me." Said Raina with a confident smile.

"And why the hell they need you for?" Asked Skye.

"I can touch the Diviner. He reads your DNA and react to it. So, some people are turned into stone. Some people are worthy of their power, others not. You will see when you hold it." It was Raina's response.

"Uh…no, thanks. Don't wanna die without checking the new Monty Python tour." Said Skye said with a sneer.

"According to your father, you'll not die." Was Raina's response, and although the other agents waited for her to continue on, the woman remained in silent for the rest of the trip.

Two hours later – The Bus

While the big plane was heading to Puerto Rico, Skye was interrogating Raina, but in a conversational manner, along with two coffee cups on the Bus's dining table. Leon watched from afar, as Skye seemed to be getting Raina to open up to her, and the agent would not want to get in her way. At the moment, they are talking about Skye's father. What Leon knew is that he was a doctor who searches for his daughter in a way that borders on insanity and that he's been leaving a trail of bodies along the way.

After some time of conversation Leon realized that Skye stood up abruptly, almost knocking her coffee and practically ran toward the couch where Leon was sitting, with a worried expression as she said:

"We have to stop them, Leon! Coulson and others are in danger!" Leon quickly got up and asked Sam to keep an eye on Raina and the two ran to the planning room, where May was.

"We have to stop them May!" Repeated Skye, with urgency in her voice.

"Calm down. Raina may be lying to you. You know that." Was May's answer.

"Still, I don't know if I would bet Phil's life on it. We should warn them." Argued Leon, staring at May.

"Raina told me that the Diviner serves to guide those who are worthy to the temple, in the city. If those who are not worthy attempt to enter the temple…something really bad could happen!" Skye seemed to have complete confidence on what she said and Leon was already with the communicator in place when May gave the signal and the agent began his communication with Coulson's team.

It was then that a strange interference began to disrupt the communicator's signal, and then a voice broke into the speakers:

"S.H.I.E.L.D 6-1-6, don't activate your defenses, or you'll be shot immediately."

"HYDRA" said May, while the team returned to the central room of the aircraft.

"HYDRA jets on both sides. We're surrounded" Said Billy, looking through the windows. The voice in the communicators continued:

"You have someone on board that I want. A woman, Raina. I will send my men to extract her. Any attempt to escape or retaliation will be received with hostile fire."

May led Leon into a corner and said something in his ear that made him leave the room and soon after joined the rest of the team in the central part of the plane, everyone with their guns drawn. Skye asked, as soon as May approached:

"Where Leon is goin'?"

"He's our surprise element. Trust me. Let's prepare for the delivery. Raina's not worth sacrificing everyone on this plane for."

"How they tracked us?" Asked Billy

"Probably by the tracer that we implemented in Raina months ago.." Answered May.

Minutes later the agents in the room were perplexed by Grant Ward's arrival, along with a HYDRA team, to make Raina's extraction.

"First you give us Bakshi...now you ally yourself with HYDRA again? Choose a side Ward!" said Skye, with contempt in her voice.

"I did, you can bet on that. You, with me." Ward said, pointing to Raina, who just smiled and went on her way with the HYDRA agents. "You too." Ward continued, pointing to Skye.

"The hell she's leaving with you!" Said May, squeezing the handle of her gun.

"She comes with me, or HYDRA will destroy the plane..." Ward said confidently.

May remained silent for a few seconds, but when she realized that Skye seemed ready to surrender herself to avoid the plane to be shot down, put her hand on one of her ears and said:

"They will not, not with Raina here. Kennedy, extraction plan. NOW!"

Before anyone else could say or do anything, two stun grenades went rolling on the room floor, leaving all momentarily blind. Skye then felt a pair of arms grab her, but before she could do anything, she heard Leon's voice on her ear:

"It's me, come on!"

Leon pulled Skye by the hand and together they ran to the airplane hangar where the vehicles were. Leon stood next to one of them, covered with a black cloth, while Skye spoke at his side:

"We cannot abandon them here! HYDRA will take Raina and shoot the plane!"

"May's orders! And you know if there's anyone that can prevent this, is her. She gave me orders to ensure your survival, and that's what I'll do. May have a plan, I know that. And you have to trust me. Do you trust me, Skye?"

Leon held Skye's hand and the woman could not help but notice how his eyes exuded trust. And trust was the only thing left to her, trust in Leon and May. Skye then squeezed Leon's hand and nodded positively.

"I trust you! What...what's the plan?"

As Skye finished her question, Leon pulled the vehicle's black cloth, revealing Lola, a red 50's Corvette and director Coulson's pet car. No one drives Lola, nobody touches the Lola, but this was an emergency.

Leon and Skye got into the car and Skye pressed the button that opened the hangar's doors at the same time that two HYDRA goons appeared at the door. Leon quickly drew his handgun and shot the two, knocking them down, while he started the car and let it slide down the ramp, out of the plane.

Leon left the car fall for several seconds before trigger Lola's flight module (and if S.H.I.E.L.D could make an aircraft carrier fly, a car was a piece of cake.), and with a button press, the agent triggered the convertible's retractile roof and activated the camouflage system, leaving the car invisible, preventing it to be detected by HYDRA's jets.

Leon and Skye were saved, but the two agents could not avoid the thought that, unless May's plan was a very good one, they surely left their comrades to die inside the bus.


End file.
